Blue Moon Rising
by KittyMayhem
Summary: They've been sneaking around for a long time, but they are still no closer to finding peace than before. What happens when a Blue Moon decides to play a factor in their lives? Ranma/Ryoga Slash, Angst, Sap, OOC, Violence, AU
1. Hidden in his Eyes

**Author's Note:**

*waves* Hi Everybody! No this is not doctor NICK, so you can feel free to live a little longer without me cutting you in half.

I'm not sure if anyone remembers (or cares, but that's just me) A little while ago, I posted this story and then i took it down. Well, I'm putting it back up again, and not giving a crap about whatever. ^-^ I have the god given freedom to do what I want with a proper disclaimer, and I'm all about messing things up in a weird funny AU type of manner.

So forgive me if this doesn't stick to the plan and the proper format of the original series and/or manga, cause it does get pretty AU.

SEVERELY AU.

So if I miss anything, made a mistake somewhere that has nothing to do with grammar...oh well. ^-^ I've re-re-written this, taking it apart, taking things out, changing several factors, and then ultimately coming up with this....and wondering if I'll keep writing this thing.

We'll see. Until then, feel free to read, leave feedback. ^-^ *smiles sweetly* I will destroy all negative feedback and move on without responding to it. Other than that:

I don't own any of these characters or half of the ideas in here! At least...not until the AU starts popping up. :)

* * *

Sometimes words just weren't enough. Sometimes the words could come and fall out of their mouths, and it still wouldn't be enough. He needed to feel the warmth of the person who said such loving things, needed to be wrapped around them and inhale all that there was about that person. He did so, never missing the light loving hum of his lover embracing him again, drinking in the sweet scent of the dying day with the soft wisps of his cologne. He lifted his head from his lover's shoulders, looking into the twin pools of sapphire flickering in the dying light of the sun.

Was it too much to ask to stay this way? He wanted to say something, but the soft fingers on his lips kept him from asking. He closed his eyes and let their heads meet sweetly.

"No one would understand, love," he heard him say. "They never do, and they never will."

"But…I don't want to fight you anymore," he whispered in kind. "What is the point of it?!"

"Keeping up appearances to keep those meddling bastards from invading what is mine and mine alone…"

He hated to hear his lover say such things, but it was true. There was little time for them to be together, even in the privacy that was given to them. He sighed, frustrated, but relieved that his lover would go through such lengths for them to be together.

"I love you…remember that…" he heard him say. He looked into his eyes again, and he could have sworn they changed color. "I will never give you up. I didn't then, and I won't now."

"I know…and I love you, too…"

"We'd better get out of here soon. She's bound to come looking for us."

And that was reality getting the better of them. He lifted his head and fell back swimming from the too short press of lips against his own. He felt his head spin and his cheeks heat up, and he stepped away before something else could heat up. His lover smiled at him, and urged him to go with a parting touch lingering from his fingers.

He heard the voice calling for his lover, and it made him sick to his stomach. "Ranma…"

"Follow me in a moment," Ranma instructed. "Remember…I don't mean ANY of it. Okay?"

He nodded and waited as he was supposed to. The voice of that woman was closer than before; close enough to ring his ears when she screamed for Ranma once again. She was only a few feet away, and Ranma was in front of her within a few seconds. He leapt out of their hiding spot and scowled at the girl looking for him, hating every minute he had to stand there and watch her act put out.

She didn't know the meaning of "Put out".

"Would you stop yelling?" Ranma snapped. "I can hear you just fine, Akane!!"

Akane folded her arms over her chest and huffed. "Where were you?!"

"Around. God, wake up half the fucking neighborhood why don't you?!"

"Answer the question!"

"Not that it was any of your business, but I was taking CARE of something."

"Or someone I bet," Akane mumbled angrily.

"Maybe," he tossed out, leaving her stunned for a moment. "Maybe I was hanging out with someone who doesn't scream around half the neighborhood looking for me. Maybe."

Anything she could have said in kind to that was cut short with the appearance of one Ryoga Hibiki. Ramna found himself biting his lip, swallowing the guilt he felt when Ryoga put on that hardened mask and forced himself into their usual roles around the other. Really…this was getting sickening.

"Oh, Hey Ryoga!" Akane greeted. "Long time no see!"

"Hey Akane." Ryoga greeted nervously fiddling with the ends of his shirt. Shit, he hated doing this! "How are things?"

"You're in a good mood. I guess Ranma didn't pick on you today did he?"

Ryoga shook his head and Ranma almost laughed. More like picked at the clothing the boy wore in order to get them off of that body. He smirked, and Ryoga growled, vowing to pay him back for making him think about it.

"I wasn't picking on him today, Akane," Ranma said. "I didn't feel like it."

"That's a shock."

"Whatever. Let's just go home."

Akane didn't go right away. She turned to Ryoga, smiling gently for the first time in minutes. Ranma snorted. The girl was almost bi-polar. She had to be in order to flip like that so often.

"Ryoga would you like to join us for dinner?" she asked. "I'm sure you're hungry."

Ryoga looked at Ranma. "I don't know," he said, waiting for Ranma to signal if it was okay or not. Ranma nodded slightly, rubbed his nose and looked away. Oh, thank the heavens. Akane wasn't cooking tonight! "I don't want to be a burden…"

"Oh come on, Ryoga. Just come on and have dinner with m--I mean us," Ranma said. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, scowling at the knowing smirk Ryoga was giving him. Okay, so he almost messed up. Big deal. "It's not like you'll die tonight…"

"Ranma!"

He avoided the swing for his head and jumped away from her before she could really hit him. "What?! Can I help it if you cook things that would burn through concrete?!" he snapped. "You make lumps of coal look like buttermilk biscuits…and they taste better!"

"Can we just GO get some food?!" Ryoga exclaimed coming between them. One hand placed itself firmly on Ranma's chest, hesitating a bit before shoving him backwards. "Lay off of Akane."

Ranma snorted and walked off. "Whatever pig-boy."

Ryoga flipped him off and joined him as they walked toward the place they called home. Ranma ignored the look of disgust Akane gave him, and put his arm around Ryoga's shoulders as if he were conspiring something. In reality, he nuzzled the brown locks for a moment, promising that they would find away out of this…one way or another.

* * *

**...That night...**

"Shhh!! Just come on! She won't say anything," he said softly urging Ryoga on. He grasped Ryoga's hands and pulled him forward to press their bodies together. The soft protest of his name died on Ryoga's lips when Ranma kissed him soundly, nuzzling the red cheeks moments after air proved vital once more.

Ranma giggled at the indecision on Ryoga's face as he fought to think about this. There really was no thinking about it. "It's warm in here," he said softly. "And we're alone."

"Shut up!" Ryoga said quietly, though that was his sound way of being sold on the idea. Ranma smiled a little more as Ryoga looked over to the bath waiting on them. "Fine. But only for a little while!" He wasn't keen on the idea of getting caught by late night walkers, and there tended to be a few of them in the house. Amongst them was Akane,, and he definitely didn't want to explain why he was in the bath with Ranma with Ranma's hands on his ass.

As if reading his thoughts, Ranma lightly cuffed Ryoga upside the head, spun him around, and directed him into the waiting bath.

The water was waiting, steaming and welcoming to the two bodies looking to seat themselves in it. Ranma climbed in first, welcoming the soothing warmth that relaxed the stiff muscles in his legs, back and arms. He sat down as Ryoga sat down with him, staring at him and his face of utter bliss. Normally things like this were done far away from the walking distance of the members of the Tendo household, but lately Ramna had been demanding more and more of his time. Ryoga didn't have a chance to get lost these days. Ranma was always near him, always smiling at him…always saying that they would find a way through the thick mess Genma Saotome had gotten Ranma into.

He found it hard to believe sometimes, but tonight, he entertained the thought. It would be nice to be able to do this without worrying...and without the aches and pains that came with fighting falsely. He could feel the waters beginning to ebb away the pain of the bruises forming on his backside.

"Did you have to kick me so hard?" he muttered lightly. "Jeez…"

Ranma winced a bit but didn't move. "Sorry for kicking you so hard."

"It's fine. How's your head?"

Ranma rubbed the knot that had formed, grown, shrank, and settled into a firm dull ache. "It'll be fine. She hits hard."

"You keep calling her names."

"She keeps getting on my nerves. Still...she is abnormally strong."

They grew silent again, though it was in comfort. The stars were clear tonight, and they set to watching them through the rising steam of the bath. They were two growing men, riddled in the strange chaos of Nerima, its inhabitants, and the ongoing fight of anything goes. They had the skill and the bruises to prove their worth, and in the end, they only had one another to rely on. It wasn't something they could readily say aloud, not without getting into a fight they weren't prepared to fight to the very end.

Ranma preferred to live a little longer, with the comfort that Ryoga loved him despite their situation.

A sudden chill from the outside drifted past them. Ryoga shuddered, though he relaxed when Ranma shifted and urged him to move forward. Soon he was drifting back against the warm body of Ranma, those taut arms curling around his waist as his lips danced upon his shoulder.

"Better?" Ranma breathed softly in his ear. "Don't worry so much...I locked the door."

"You would," Ryoga snorted, "Not that I'm complaining….I miss being like this."

Ranma kissed the back of his neck. "I know. I'm sorry."

Ryoga tilted his head back to look at Ranma, meeting him halfway in a soft kiss. Ranma pushed him a bit, sliding his hands down his chest, feeling the hardened muscles quiver at his touch. Ryoga moaned against him, and moved his hands over Ranma's directing him where he wanted Ranma's hands to be. Those talented hands grasped hold of his heated shaft and stroked gently, earning an open moan of desire from his lost one. He loved the sounds Ryoga made when he was like this, and coaxed more from him as he let their desire reach a dizzying new height.

Little did he know that the camera loved it as well.

* * *

**... Next Day: Mid Afternoon ...**

Something was calling to him. He didn't know what, or why, but something was very different. Alone in the dojo, he stepped into the next few practiced steps of his Kata, mind whirling around the possibilities. Life was getting weirder, and this strange feeling…

Ryoga was nowhere in sight. He had probably wandered off, and gotten lost yet again. It wouldn't take long to find him, but he needed this time to be alone and figure out why his desire to be with the lost boy was so strong. It had always been strong, but not like this. Not to the point where the thought of Ryoga coming home as P-chan in Akane's arms had him breaking bricks for a solid hour. There was dust from the remnants of the bricks around the dojo floor, and he kicked some of it up as he moved into another stance.

Nabiki walked into the dojo and Ranma stopped mid-step. Their eyes met, and Ranma knew she'd seen something. Her smile was a dead giveaway to her slow walk in approaching him. He tensed and growled a bit when she waved.

"Oh sweet Ranma...I knew something was up with you."

"Oh shut the hell up and tell me what the hell you want," Ranma sighed. "I'm not in the mood to be blackmailed today."

The look of mischief in her eyes was misleading. She produced a disk and handed it to him, wondering silently why she was even giving him a choice in the matter. Maybe it was because he didn't have many choices. Ranma looked at her, and then at the disc. No, she didn't understand it anymore than he did.

"What's on it?" Ranma asked.

"You and Ryoga...in the bathtub...last night."

"…..shit."

"Puh-lease" Nabiki sighed rather amused by his discomfort. Still..."I won't tell."

Ranma's eyes widened. "Did I hear that right?!"

Nabiki nodded and clasped her hands behind her head. "Mmm. You heard right. Just do me a favor and tell her soon," she said. "It's not fair to her or you."

"And you can promise me she won't beat the shit out of me?" he asked, amusement laced with sarcasm. They knew how that would go. Akane would freak, beat the shit out of him, and then run to her room sobbing her eyes out. Like they needed to see that more than the allotted eight times a week it happened.

Nabiki shrugged at his question. "I don't know. You love him that much?"

"More than you could possibly understand."

"Then why not admit it?"

"That's asking idiots to practice intelligence and asking them to know the meaning of the word 'understand'."

"Understand what?" a voice called.

Ranma and Nabiki looked up to see Akane standing in the doorway of the Dojo dressed in her training gear. She'd only walked in on the end part of their conversation, but concern was written all over her face. No one quite knew the reason behind it, and for a moment Ranma thought she might have heard more of that conversation than the originally thought. Yet she wasn't stampeding over to where he was to knock him out, so he figured he was safe for another moment.

There was some movement behind her; he craned his neck to see who else was coming to join them.

"Wha--?!"

There was another girl behind Akane, one that Akane didn't notice. She was about Akane's height, perhaps a little taller, but well defined in her development in becoming a woman. Definitely eighteen or twenty like the rest of them, with wide doe like brown eyes that squinted in disgust the longer she stood unnoticed by Akane. Had it not been the fact that she was dressed in the same attire Ryoga was known to wear, Ranma might not have looked at her a second time.

He walked up to and past Akane, moving her to the side to get a better look at this girl. The girl eyed him, snorted and flipped him off only where he could see. The fanged smile gave it away, and he grabbed her by the shoulders in shock.

"Oh my god…" he hissed trying not to lose it. Laughing or screaming would not do anyone any favors. "Ryoga?! What…the hell happened?! You…are…a…**girl**…why?!"

Ryoga-chan shrugged a bit. It was a strange situation all around. "Mousse and I fought…and he splashed me with something the old crone was working on," she muttered. "I turned into a girl…I think it was some of the instant Nyanichuan. But she was messing with it, so I don't know--??"

"Oh my—Do you still change into….ya know?"

Ryoga-chan smiled at that one. "Well….it seems that whatever this concoction does, it removes the prior curse," she said as she held up the little black piglet. She hadn't thought to take it at first, but the thought of her former curse being pork dumpling wasn't a settling thought. Ranma gaped at it, and then gaped at Ryoga-chan bouncing on her heels. "I have your problem for the moment…"

"I suppose it's a good thing you're cute either way."

"Wait, what?!" Ryoga-chan and Akane asked.

"Ranma…you know her?!" Akane asked.

"You could say that…" Ranma said. "How'd you find her?"

"She said she was looking for the Tendo Dojo…and she had P-chan!" Akane huffed, crossing her arms and glaring daggers into the girl that was clutching Ranma's arm. "I thought she was here to sign up for classes, not looking for you! This had better not be another one of your fiancés!!"

What she didn't know wouldn't hurt her. Ranma didn't stay for the round of questions that were forming from Akane's lips. He grabbed Ryoga-chan's hand and led her away, followed by the "normal" women of the household wanting to know who he new girl was and why Ranma seemed to know her. Akane more than anyone.

Akane got as far as the bathroom doors before the door was shut in her face and locked. She growled but was stopped from pounding the door down by Nabiki's hand on her shoulder.

"Who does he think he is?!" Akane screamed. "This is not a brothel for him to have girls we don't know running around!!"

The door opened a moment later, and Ranma walked out with his hands behind his head. He walked past Akane and Nabiki, headed back for the dojo where he could work some of this nonsense off. Akane and Nabiki waited for the girl to come out, but they got a nice little surprise when Ryoga stepped out. He handed P-chan off to Akane and ran after Ranma.

Akane handed P-chan off to Nabiki and ran after the boys.

Nabiki and P-chan looked at one another and sighed. "Drama," she muttered. P-chan grunted in agreement.

Akane managed to reach the open doors of the Dojo in time to see Ranma shove Ryoga a bit. Ryoga punched him in arm, annoyed but shaking his head at the laughing Ranma. She stepped into the Dojo, catching their attention and putting whatever fun they had to rest for the moment. Ranma eyed her, annoyed for his own reasons, but she didn't quite care.

Something was NOT right.

"We're kind of in the middle of something here," Ranma said. "You mind?"

Two and two clicked together. She covered her mouth and pointed at Ryoga. "Y-you! You were that girl!!" she screamed. "How?! I bet Ranma has something to do with this!"

Ranma shook his head easily. "Nope…not this time. That was all Mousse."

"What?" Akane cried in disbelief. "Why would he--?!"

"I don't know…" Ranma sighed. "Have some heart will ya? The guy changes into a person with tits now."

"Is he putting you up to this Ryoga? Because if he is I'll--"

"Oh just STOP," Ryoga snapped, startling not only Akane but Ranma as well. Ryoga wasn't done yet. He bristled, pointing at her and moving forward a little angrily. "You will do NOTHING. I was the GIRL, ME. I don't KNOW why Mousse did that. It just happened! I'm back to normal now…so can we DROP it?!"

Ryoga stormed out of the dojo, walking towards the waiting Koi pond. Ranma was two steps behind him and Akane hot on their footsteps. She didn't understand any of this nonsense, but then again, this was an everyday thing here in Nerima. She stopped running after them when they had come to the water's edge, opening her mouth to apologize.

It never quite came out. Ranma was being punted into the pool with Ryoga by a laughing old man and his daily haul of women's panties.

What surfaced was the girl form of Ranma…and the girl form of Ryoga cursing Happosai to the seven pits of Hell. Ranko stared at Ryoga-chan, her brow knitting in fury as she assumed that Ryoga was now STUCK with her curse.

Ryoga-chan sighed heavily as something came floating to the surface of the water. The red Chinese envelope floated up and over toward Ranko, giving away just what happened. Ryoga-chan shrugged. "He gave me a few of both," she explained. "After he hit me with the first batch of course. I had Instant GIRL in my pocket. I never was good at reading Chinese…"

Ranko laughed, relieved and more than happy that someone she loved didn't have to share the burden of fleshy breast moving of their own free will. Being a man was simpler in so many ways.

"I suppose we should change….AGAIN," Ranko sighed. "Come on…I'll get the hot water, you get the towels from Kasumi."

"Sure."

They waded out of the water, shaking themselves dry a bit and wetting each other at the same time. The laughter that bubbled out of them was unheard of, and rendered Akane nearly speechless. This was supposed to be the part where Ryoga blamed Ranma, Ranma called him stupid, and then the usual fight ensued with Akane ending it by knocking Ranma into kingdom come. Not…this.

"What's with you Ryoga? I thought you didn't like Ranma…?" Akane said.

Ryoga-chan shrugged. "He's not so bad…when you know him."

Like that made any sense. "Uh...Okay…?"

"Time to regrow our balls, Ryoga!" Ranko called. "Let's go be NORMAL again."

Without another word from the boys turned girls, they walked into the house leaving their stunned audience behind. Akane watched them go; severely confused as she approached the members of her family that had witnessed what happened.

"What was that all about?" she asked no one in particular. "Ryoga…doesn't stand up for Ranma…ever…did something happen last night?"

"I'll say." Nabiki sighed walking into the hallway. She tossed the little black piglet over to Akane. "Here."

She caught P-chan and hugged him gently. "Thanks. What did you mean?"

"Nothing special."

"Wow, Ryoga's a girl now too huh?" Happosai said to himself. "Great! More bras and bosoms to cry in!!"

"You even think about touching her and I'll make you sorry old Man." Ranko roared from inside the house. She appeared seconds later, hauling him up by his shirt and daring him to do anything stupid. If Happosai was shocked, he didn't let anyone know. "You got that?!"

Happosai snorted. "What's with you Ranma? Have you no respect for an old man's needs?"

"Why are you still a girl Ranma?" Akane asked. "I thought you would have changed."

"No hot water," Ryoga-chan sighed walking into the hallway to join them. "We are stuck this way for a minute."

"Ryoga baby! Let get a better look at you!!" Happosai cried.

Happosai didn't have a chance in hell. Ranko's grip tightened on his shirt and the little old man was slammed into the ground first. There was a nice little crack in the shape of his body outline in the floor, and then there was a bigger crack in the concrete wall surrounding the house. Happosai slid down in a daze, amazed that Ranko of all people had done that so quickly and violently. It would have been a proud moment if he wasn't currently fighting being knocked out.

"Dirty Bastard," Ranko grumbled.

Ryoga-chan smiled gratefully at Ranko while the others gaped. It wasn't until P-chan's squee of interest appeared did anyone snap out of it. Ranko cricked her neck and muttered something darkly about Happosai and castration.

"What was that all about boy?" Genma asked suspiciously. "Not that we don't mind but...why did you do that?"

"I...didn't want Ryoga to get grabbed by that pervert!! That's all."

Genma put his hands up in surrender. "Okay...no need to bite off my head."

"Son, we really need to talk about the future of this dojo and your marriage to Akane." Soun prompted for the thousandth time. "It's imperative that you make a decision. You're eighteen now."

"TWENTY-ONE." Ranko rolled her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. She had a headache coming on. "Not this again. Look I ain't marrying nobody except for who I choose to marry. I told you that already."

"And you'll choose to marry Akane right?"

"Wrong."

"And what's wrong with me?!" Akane shouted. "Am I not good enough for you?"

"Hmm...Where do I start?" Ranko huffed.

"Don't start," Ryoga-chan said trying not to giggle. "Hold your tongue just this once."

"Shit…fine…whatever you say."

"Now why is it that Ryoga can get you to shut up and I can't?!" Akane screamed. "And who would want to marry someone like you, you pervert?! You're such a jerk sometimes!"

"Stop talking about him like he's a jerk!" Ryoga-chan shouted. Again everyone was blown into shocked silence. Ryoga-chan didn't seem to care then. She was too intent on letting her point get across, despite wanting to curl up somewhere and cry her eyes out. The boy in her was blaming the slew of hormones that hit him harder than Ranma could on a good day. "He's NOT a jerk! Why are you so mean to him?!"

Ryoga-chan left then, running out of the room and into the dojo with a loud sob. Ranko groaned tiredly; already well aware of how difficult it was to control the estrogen in her blood. "What…the hell Akane?!" she snapped, startling the girl even more. "You know girls are more sensitive than boys are!"

She ran off after Ryoga-chan, not giving Akane a second to say anything. Akane watched quietly, until her own impulsiveness had her running after them…again. Nabiki sighed in exasperation. Akane was difficult at times.

"Daddy...I think you should call off this engagement thing." Nabiki said looking to her father. "Something tells me you won't be having any luck getting those two together."

"Have faith Nabiki." Soun sighed. "They were destined to be together."

"Sure they are…in jail when they beat the shit out of each other."

* * *

**...The Dojo five minutes later...**

Ranko knew Ryoga-chan had gone to the dojo. She waited a few moments to actually go in, cause she knew she was a sucker for anyone crying in this form. Being a girl sucked right then and there, but it helped to know that he knew what was happening. Most guys couldn't say that.

Then again, most guys didn't have their own private female show between their legs.

She walked into the large space, approaching her quickly and quietly. She knelt down in time to catch her, and hold on when the sobbing reached a ridiculous climax.

She hated it when girls cried…and hated it even more when it was someone she loved.

"This is…what happens when you become a girl," Ranko said softly. "It's okay…it's just the hormones."

"Suuuuure. And me crying like a little bitch isn't amusing…" Ryoga-chan sniffled.

Ranko smiled gently and kissed her head. "No…it's not."

They would have stayed that way had there not been the gentle cough of someone not meaning to but would intrude. Ranko looked up and spied Akane standing in the doorway with two kettles of hot water. She'd gotten them from Kasumi on her way here and figured it would be a nice peace offering.

It was a start.

"I thought you might want these." Akane said walking over to them. "Kasumi just boiled them for you."

"Thanks…."

Handling one kettle to Ryoga, she dumped the contents of her own on top of her head. Soon he was looking into those same soft eyes he was so in love with and found it hard not to kiss those lips. He settled for resting their heads together and not giving a flying shit.

"I'm…sorry about before," she said. "I want to make it up to you if you'll let me."

"How?" Ranma asked. "You don't have to do anything."

"But I want to. Tell you want. There's a fair in town for a week. Ukyo and I were going to go tonight. Why don't you come with us? My treat. I won't even say anything if you come as girls."

Ryoga and Ranma looked at one another. Apparently Akane didn't realize just what happened at the pond. Ranma silently shushed Ryoga, deciding to play this out a little longer than they had to. Keeping those packs of "Instant Girl" had its benefits after all. That joke he was waiting to play on his father could wait a bit.

"You know, it'd be fun if you came as girls," she suggested.

The girl had a switch. She had to have a switch. It just unnerved him to see her so nice one moment and so violent the next. "Um...s-sure." Ranma stuttered. "Thanks?"

"No sweat."

They waited until she was gone to look at one another. Ranma dried the rest of Ryoga's tears with his fingers, kissing him twice before he urged them to get up. Ryoga stood and shook off that ick feeling that came with wet clothes and changing back and forth. He'd never get used to it.

"So…you want free stuff?" Ranma asked. "I've got four more packets in my room."

"Why the hell not," Ryoga said. "Free is good…and I had nice jugs."

Ranma laughed a little before a wave of cold had him changing back into Ranko. She looked down and screamed as Happosai latched onto her butt with a gleeful cheer.

Ryoga, still a bit emotional, saw red.

* * *

Yeah.....^-^ Not many YURI moments.

Onto the NEXT CHAPTER!


	2. Sleepless Nights

**AN:**

This chapter is a little...short. I originally broke it up from the large hunk of chunk of writing that it was beforehand. Believe me, that was a lot of writing. :)

Anywho, continue!!

* * *

They heard the inevitable cries of an old man getting his ass whooped by someone familiar. Those cries were followed by the obscenities of a sailor's mouth, and then the loud crash of damaged floors, walls, and possibly the ceiling.

Happosai came stumbling into the living room , bruised, battered, and broken in several places. He stopped short of the table and fell on his face. Soun and Genma ignored him, more interested in the forms of Ranko and Ryoga as a male strolling past the living room and headed for the upstairs.

Nabiki smirked from where she was seated and poked the old battered man lightly in the back of his head with a book. "Someone got a handful of something he wasn't bargaining for," she leered.

"Lousy no good...the damned fool is stronger than he looks…" Happosai grumbled.

"He's had four years to get that strong," Soun said. "The boy is twenty like Ranma. Much stronger than most of us."

"What did you say?"

Soun didn't quite scramble to his knees this time. He took his newspaper and swatted his master upside his head. "Leave that boy alone before you get killed," he muttered.

"Why you—!"

Nabiki's quick hand kept Happosai from giving her father a beat-down of his own. She held up four photos, all of them incriminating and damning to the point that there would be no getting out of whatever trouble should come if these images were to be seen. He cursed and settled back down, disgusted with himself for even allowing those thoughts to pass through his mind.

A date with Cologne was more damaging than being beat up by that idiot.

"Thank-you Nabiki." Soun sighed in relief.

Nabiki went back to her reading.

A short while later they were interrupted again when Akane came running down the stairs. She was dressed in clothing to go out rather than lounge around the house as she tended to. She had on a regular form fitting white shirt that gave away a good bit of the growing she had done since she was sixteen. She wasn't something to sneeze at, not with the ample chest that bounced with every step she took. Her hips were a given in those denim shorts that she wore and her shapely legs were sure to have any man with a bit of testosterone drooling.

It had Happosai drooling, and he got a book to the back of his head for his open gaping.

Akane, oblivious, walked over to the table and sat down. "Grandfather Happosai…what did you do to piss them off?" she asked.

"Nothing he doesn't usually do." Nabiki sighed. "Where are Ranma and Ryoga?"

"Right here!"

Everyone turned to see them descend the stairs, again shocked into stunned silence. Ranko had never been anything to ignore, but she and Ryoga-chan were two lovelies worth molesting.

Happosai got a foot to the back of his head this time.

Ranko was dressed in a midriff red t-shirt that ended just above her navel. Her ample busts hadn't gotten much bigger as she grew, but she had gotten much taller. She was now a tall leggy red-head, shaped almost perfectly. Her only flaw was her gaze. No matter who she looked at, there was just too much of Ranma in there for anyone think that she was a true girl. However, her midriff shirt and her low riding jeans were enough to stir the blood of all men. Her well defined abs allowed her such confidence, and her inner male knew she was sexy as hell.

She smirked and tossed her loose locks of fine red back over her shoulders.

The girl beside her was more modest about her looks, but she was just as gorgeous. She was a little shorter than Ranma, but not by much, and just as shapely. Her slender figure was a rival for Akane's, though the outfit she wore might have trashed the look Akane was going for by several points. Ryoga-chan's shirt was a sleeveless yellow tank that was like a virtual second skin. Her breasts were enough that she could safely go without a bra and still look like she had one on. The hardened nipples poking through the thin fabric were proof that she knew this. The cutoffs she wore were black and much shorter than Akane's shorts, just barely hitting her long thighs. If she bent over…

Ranko grinned just thinking about it. Free stuff was in their grasp tonight!

Akane growled and pouted where she sat. "Damn it…why can't I be the sexy one?"

"Because you already get most of the breaks by being female all the time," Ranko said.

"Right. I thought you'd be males?"

"It's more fun when you get free stuff…and you suggested it."

"Hey anybody home?" A voice called from outside.

Ukyo stepped into the house from the entranceway to the garden from the outside. She wasn't in uniform as they thought she would be. Rather, she was in a blue halter-top with no apparent bra beneath it. She hadn't stunted in growth either, more a woman than the tomboy she was when she arrived on the scene. Her belly was bare, and her hips were covered by some tight fitting white capris that accentuated her figure quite a bit. Miss va-va-voom smiled cheekily at Ranko giving her a thumbs up.

Ranko had picked out the outfit a while back, and she was right. It looked HOT.

"Everyone ready to leave?"

"We're ready," Ranko said. "Feel like taking on another?" she asking pointing to Ryoga-chan.

"Who??"

"That is Ryoga." Akane sighed in depression.

Ukyo fixed her jaw and said nothing. Her wide smile said everything. "Tonight's a free night, I can feel it!!" she cheered. "I don't know how, but four hot ladies are sure to get us further than before!"

"I'll tell you what happened on the way," Ranko said. "Let's go before the Harlots get there and brainwash the potentials."

"Are you bringing a change of clothes?"

"Pffft, YES. As hot as I am, I'm not passing up the chance to trounce any man twice," Ranko laughed. "Come on Ryoga…the night is young!"

Akane dragged herself from her spot and followed Ryoga-chan out of the house with Ranko and Ukyo laughing it up. She had a strange feeling about tonight. Maybe it was nothing more than her wanting to strangle Ranma for being so damned hot.

Maybe.

* * *

…_**Five hours later...**_

Tonight was a good night.

Ranma sighed in satisfaction, taking the prize he'd won off of yet another sucker stupid enough to challenge him. The Game was simple and required only a certain flick of the wrist. He knew how to do knock down those jugs every time, but there were still those males who wanted to test their balls against his own.

It was funny how earlier these same idiots wanted to take him home and molest him as Ranko.

He took the prize and stuffed it into a prize bag he'd brought along, laughing at the grumbling of his losing challenger. That was his last five yen and Ranma's final bid for the night, retired and undefeated yet again. He stretched himself out with a grin, and laughed when a pair of arms grabbed him from behind and swung him in jest.

"I can't believe we managed to score half of this stuff!" Ukyo laughed. "I told you tonight would be grand!"

Ranma nodded and looked at his collection. He had to have several different sized prizes, including a stuffed black pig that could easily be someone's pillow. Half of them were won for him as Ranko, and the rest he'd won beating the snot out of them as Ranma. There was another pile nearby, but those belonged to the girls. Akane was sifting through it thoughtfully, choosing what she wanted to keep and what she would give away. It was a lot of stuff, and it hadn't taken much to get a good bit of it. A wink, a smile…and maybe a strut…

Ukyo bounded over to where Akane was and left Ranma alone for a bit. Well, not alone. Ryoga was with him, but he was quieter than he had been. He tapped Ryoga on the arm and got a small smile for his efforts.

"We got a lot of stuff tonight," Ranma mentioned.

"Yeah…we did. Only…"

"Only what? Ryoga?"

Ryoga shook his head lightly. He was drifting again. "I think I like being a boy better," he said. "Being a girl wasn't bad…but I can do without the extra boobage."

"I've gotten used to it…but I know what you mean. What's really on your mind?"

"You…as always."

"Really? I can deal with that."

It had been a night of excitement, competiveness, rides, games, and food. They'd been everywhere, done nearly everything that there was to be done, and not once had they been separated. Ranko always had Ryoga-chan's hands in her own, and Ranma was always shoulder to shoulder with Ryoga. It didn't matter what they did, Ranma made it an effort to make it special for their own sakes. It wasn't as if they could do this alone.

Not without the scrutiny it would bring.

Ranma reached out and gently flicked the tip of Ryoga's nose. "Thinking about you, too."

Their little moment was over when the girls hopped back over with their selected prizes. "I don't know about you, but I'm beat!" Ukyo exclaimed. "That was fun! We should do it again soon!"

"What, win like seventy-five prizes and trounce everyone? Sure, why not?" Ranma chuckled. "It was fun."

"Sure was. All right then…I've got my prizes. Now it's time to go back to the shop and make some quick dough for tomorrow…I'll see you guys tomorrow?"

Ranma nodded and kissed her on the center of her forehead in farewell. "Sure. Bye U-chan. Call when you get home."

She gave him a light nod and kissed him on his cheek as her own farewell. "I will. See Ya Ran-chan! Akane! Later Ryoga!"

Ukyo ran off with her prizes, waving and leaving the three of them to themselves. Ranma started to gather up their prizes and things, missing the slightly put off look on Akane's face. She hadn't known when they'd got to be so chummy with one another, but seeing Ranma kiss another girl, even on the forehead, didn't make her feel any better about their situation.

She decided not to think about it, and grabbed her stuff in order to go home.

"So…did you have fun as a girl?" she asked Ryoga. "You got a lot of response."

Ryoga rolled his eyes. "Please. I think I'll be okay without the added and missing parts of my anatomy."

"Aren't you afraid of changing again??"

"Huh? No. Akane that stuff was instant…Mousse hit me with the fake stuff."

Well that cleared up about ten different questions she'd been meaning to ask. "Oh! Okay…well at least you don't have to buy a whole new wardrobe for your house," she chuckled. "That must be a relief."

"Yeah it is…that and not watching Ranko punch out every dude that hits on me."

"What?! That douche had it coming!" Ranma exclaimed. "He was getting fresh after I warned him I would put his head up his ass."

"Bet getting hit by a hot red-head was on his fantasy list," Akane snorted.

"If it wasn't, it is now. Going home."

"Might as well call it home," Ryoga sighed. "We're always there anyhow."

"Don't you have a home around here?" Akane asked. "Ryoga?"

"Um…not really. I stay where I can."

"He stays with me when I can catch him," Ranma admitted. "We're trying to fix the living situation…"

"Then why not just stay with us?"

Was she serious? Ranma shrugged and shook his head at Ryoga. Akane was a hard card to read sometimes. She walked off talking about asking her father if Ryoga could stay, and the boys followed, wondering and hoping that it would be okay.

* * *

**...At the house...**

"Sure Ryoga can stay with us." Soun said as he finished his tea. "But he'll have to help out around here."

That was a given. Ranma was still a little busy working his brain around the fact that Soun Tendo was allowing Ryoga to stay with them. He now had a closer insight on where Akane's randomness came from. She got it from Soun.

Ryoga was having trouble believing it himself. He had a place to stay permanently. With Ranma.

"I…I thank you!" he exclaimed, bowing to show his appreciation. "You don't know what this means to me!"

"No problem," Genma said proudly. "Ranma my boy, you won't mind if he sleeps in our room do you?"

"That wasn't a question," Ranma said. It wouldn't have been up for discussion. Ryoga was going to stay with him, and that was that. "Where are you sleeping old man?"

"In the Master's room," Genma cried sadly.

"Don't Worry Ranma. I'll take good care of Genma." Happosai exclaimed patting the older man on the back. "We'll have lots of fun won't we?"

"Of course Master. Loads...and loads…of fun."

"That's the spirit!"

"All right…I'm out of here," Ranma sighed. "Time to go."

"Where are you going?" Akane asked.

"To take a nice hot bath. I'm tired."

"Well hurry up. I want to take a shower with hot water this time. You used it all up last time."

"I need a bath myself," Ryoga sighed.

"Since you all need Baths, why doesn't Akane go first since she just needs a shower and then you two take a bath together?" Kasumi suggested. "You both are guys so it won't matter now will it?"

"And if you want...you can always shower with Akane instead." Genma whispered slyly. "We give you permission."

"Shut up old man!" Ranma shouted knocking him upside the head. "I ain't bathing with her now or ever!"

"Like I would want you too!" Akane shouted. "You'd probably try something funny."

"Whatever. Just go take your shower already…"

His candle of outrage had died quicker than usual. Akane stared at him, and could have swore something changed in his eyes in that split second. The always calm neutral blue had flickered into something more, something deeper than had her mesmerized for a moment too long. That gaze wasn't directed at her and she brought herself out of it, alarmed and curious as to whom that gaze was for.

Ranma reached out and tugged Ryoga's shirt, pulling himself closer and lying there with his head against the table. Ryoga absently patted Ranma's head and smiled at nothing in particular.

She left to take her shower, confused more than ever.

* * *

Akane lie awake in her bed, staring at the ceiling and listening as the winds passed her by. She should have been deep into la-la land, but the questions in her head were keeping her awake, again. She sighed and let the questions float about in her mind, asking themselves and having no answer to keep them from asking themselves again and again. The more she thought on the answers, the more questions would show, and eventually her mind was just a crowded noisy place to be.

One question in particular was stuck in its spot and refused to budge. She sighed again, listening to it scream the loudest and unable to answer it at all.

What was it about those eyes…that made her frightened and curious so?

She'd always noticed the looks Ranma gave everyone. They were guarded looks, as if he had a shield up to protect anyone from seeing who he truly was. He had just reason not to trust, with the way he was being challenged all the time and how he was raised to add to the trauma. But…she couldn't keep herself from remembering little changes that blew themselves out like a light. Like tonight.

His thoughts were on something or someone he was fond of, that much she was sure about. But who?

And then that other pesky question was in her face mocking her. Did he like her? Did he have feelings for her at all?

She turned over to smother her mind and go to sleep, but wound up sitting up as something when thump in the hall. In an instant she was out of the bed, grabbing her bat and making her way out of her room. She heard the noise again down the lengths of it, and she jogged towards the source.

She found herself staring at Ranma's open door and into it to see Ranma kneeling aside Ryoga.

Ranma noticed her, and again his eyes shielded themselves.

"Ranma….are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he whispered. "Ryoga has a slight fever. I didn't mean to wake you."

"Is he going to be Okay?"

"I gave him some of the stuff I gave you when you were sick. He should be better by morning."

"I'll stay with you if you want."

He shook his head. "One of us needs some sleep. I only have a few errands to run and a class in the midday. I'll be fine."

No use in arguing with him. He was set on watching Ryoga tonight. She could see that from the simple way he changed the cloth on his forehead, determined to keep him cool as he slept soundly. The atmosphere left her feeling unwanted, as if to say there was no space for her there. She quickly took a step backward and eased herself back into a welcome atmosphere outside of his room.

"I guess…I'll go back to bed," she said. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah. See ya."

Akane walked back to her room. She didn't get much sleep.

* * *

Neither did I.... :D

Onward!


	3. Sensitive Situations

**AN:**

Holy shit BATMAN...it's a LEMON!! THERE IS A LEMON AHEAD!! AT THE VERY FREAKING END!! XD

Other than that, i should warn you that I've changed the aspects of the Full Body CAT tongue, and since Ryoga is no longer P-chan, nor is he a GIRL, he will be susceptible to temperature changes and things that are normal for us will be unbearable for him. Ranma's touch is the only thing that does not harm him, in fact it somewhat heals him.

You have to actually READ that part in order to see the underlying tones I'm trying to convey.

Otherwise, enjoy the story...and/or lemon part of it. :)

* * *

**...Morning...**

Once again he was forced to avoid the greedy eyes of his father eyeing the bowl in his hands. Ranma growled and leapt over another attempt his father made in order to see what he had prepared in the wee hours of the morning. Ranma slipped past him and kicked him in the jaw, sending him face first out the doors and into the Koi pond.

That Panda came up and coughed up a fish for his troubles.

The table had been set with breakfast, consisting of a traditional Japanese Style breakfast that would feed them all. For once Kasumi was at the table, staring in awe at the food and too happy that she wasn't the one who had gotten up early to make it. That was all Ranma, currently strolling past everyone with the bowl of food in question in his hands. Lately he'd been getting up to cook meals, and this was the seventh time in two weeks that they had breakfast worthy of Kasumi's talent. Ranma had a gift for it, but he only did it when he felt like it.

Like this morning. His only incentive was to cook for Ryoga, and somehow it evolved into breakfast for everyone.

"Enjoy breakfast," he called bounding up the stairs two at a time. "I've eaten so don't save me any!"

Akane watched him vanish. Chances were good that he was taking Ryoga something to eat.

Ranma quickly found his way back to his room in time to see Ryoga sitting up. The cloth fell off of his head and landed in his sleep laden hands, dry and used of the cool water that kept his fever at bay last night. Ranma crossed the floors of the room to sit aside him, kissing the rumpled head of brown as he put the bowl of food down.

"Feeling better?"

Ryoga nodded faintly and rubbed his eyes of sleep. "Mmm…I guess I caught a chill."

"Chill or not, you stay here today. I don't want you wandering around."

"What are you my nurse?!"

"No…just the man that loves you, worries about you, and doesn't want you lost anytime soon."

Ryoga had the good grace to blush at that blunt but soft admission. He hated getting lost more than Ranma did. Ranma took the bowl of food he'd made and put it in Ryoga's hands urging his lover to eat something when he gave him the chopsticks to with it. Ryoga didn't need to be told twice. His stomach was doing the talking, and his hunger had him shoveling the food down his throat in the span of five minutes.

Ranma laughed when Ryoga put the bowl down with a grin. "Did you even taste that?"

"I guess I'm just a little hungrier than usual? But it was good…and I wish I had more?"

"Nice try," Ranma snorted. "I've got some stuff to do today. You'll be okay?"

"Yeah. Go do your thing."

He said it, not him. Ranma brought his hands around Ryoga's waist, bringing him closer and pressing his lips against the ones that tasted of rice, egg, spices, and morning. He could get used to doing this…kissing him like this every morning, stealing his breath away and diving in for more when air allowed it, feeling his hands clasp the span of his biceps and curl into them as his cheeks heated up and threatened to make him pass out from pleasure alone. He pulled away slowly, taking in the sight of a pleasure hazed Ryoga lying in his arms and smiling stupidly at him.

He twined their hands and rested them between their bodies, kissing the back of Ryoga's hand twice. Ryoga kissed his shoulder, relieved and glad for moments like these; moments where he found himself falling into the deep lingering gaze of a million and one hues of blue gazing at him and only him.

The soft snorting of a nosey black piglet brought them out of it. P-chan wandered into the open room, sniffing around for his own reasons. Ranma tapped the floor and caught the piglet's attention, causing it to squeal happily and run right for him. Ranma caught him and laughed at the excited squirm of a pig trying to lick his face.

Akane appeared a moment later looking for P-chan only to stop and stare at the sight of P-chan in Ranma's embrace. Ryoga was aside him, his head resting on Ranma's arm as he watched the two of them mess with one another. Ranma tossed P-chan up and caught him, falling back and letting the piglet nuzzle him to its heart's content.

Akane felt her world shift violently to the far left. "I...I...he's...holding P-chan!"

"Of course," Ranma laughed. "He's not so bad, when you know him."

"I must have missed something somewhere along the line." She muttered a little too loud. "That's just weird and wrong…"

"What time is it??"

"Huh? Oh, almost eight. We should get going."

"Sure. Come on Ryoga, I'm taking you downstairs."

Ranma, with P-chan still in his embrace, somehow managed to gather himself and Ryoga in a mass of sheets, limbs and laughter headed for the door and down the stairs. Ryoga clung to him as Ranma ran, leaping down the stairs with P-chan bweeing in excitement.

Akane thought the world would turn upside down. "What the…when did this happen?!"

* * *

…**Sometime later in the City…**

"Hey! What are you doing out here??"

Ranma looked up from the rack he'd been leafing through, spying Ukyo waving at him. He urged her over with a nod of his head. "I'm looking for something."

"Oh?" she asked when she was close enough. "Like what?"

The truth is, he didn't know.

After doing all of his errands for the morning, something had led him into this bookstore. He wasn't one to go anywhere else that didn't have manga stacked to the tee, but for some reason, he felt the urge to leave through articles and magazines, and even opened a book or three. He had two sitting on the counter, and another book under his arm. He was in the middle of looking through the magazines that featured spiritualities, demons, ghosts, and other folklore, when something caught his eye.

It was a magazine with a full moon on it…and it was blue.

Something seemed to click together in the back of his mind and he quietly shoved it back into the confines it had come from. He grabbed the magazine and the books he'd wanted, and walked for the counter to pay for them.

Ukyo walked with him, more than confused. "Ran-chan??"

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I found what I was looking for," he said easily. "You done? Cause I could go for something to eat."

"Yeah. Hey, we can try that new place that opened up a few blocks away!"

"Nice. I should have enough to get myself something and bring something back for Ryoga…"

"Ryoga?? I thought he would have wandered off by now…"

"He's staying with me now…with us anyhow," Ranma said dryly. "I wish I had my own place…then I wouldn't have to worry about the idiot trying something funny with Ryoga in the house."

They paid for their things and went out into the busy streets headed for the place Ukyo had suggested. She lingered at his side in silence for a moment. He didn't seem to notice.

"Ran-chan…you really care about Ryoga, don't you?" she said more than asked.

Ranma shrugged. She didn't know the half of it. "What makes you say that?"

"You're offering to bring him back food…which is weird…but sweet of you."

"Yeah? Well don't go telling Akane, or else I'll never hear the end of it."

"I won't….besides, I wonder what's up with her…?"

"What do you mean?"

"I dunno…she's been funny lately. Like Bi-polar funny…and she was stuttering this morning about P-chan."

Ranma laughed a little. "She caught me playing with P-chan…and yeah, she is getting weirder than the norm," he mused. "I suppose it has to do with my not being around her…well that and me cooking." He grinned a little bit, holding up the bag of ingredients that he would need in order to prepare dinner for tonight. He sudden felt like cooking again, and had even called the house to tell Kasumi not to bother. She was all but too happy to comply.

Ukyo stared between the bag and Ranma. "Okay, now you're weird," she giggled. "Since when do you cook?"

"Since forever…or maybe last year. I dunno."

"Interesting. So why is the lost one at the house anyhow?"

"Caught a chill. Didn't want him wandering around."

"And if he gets lost?"

"I'll find him….I always find him."

They kept going, idly talking about nothing in particular until a familiar body nearly bumped into them. Ranma moved to the side of Tatewaki Kuno running off in another direction, dressed in normal garb for a change. Tsubasa of all people was behind him, barely winding himself as he leapt after Kuno chasing after some sort of a shadow.

Ranma resisted following. He wanted to, but it looked like this wasn't something he needed to deal with at the moment.

"W-what was that all about??" Ukyo asked. "Weird!"

"I was wondering the same thing," someone else said. Akane ran up to them and stopped, falling over to catch her breath. "Jeez…they move faster than I thought!"

"Why were you chasing them?"

"I figured it might have something to do with Ranma," she breathed. "Obviously not…Hey, you bought books??"

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Yes I bought books. I was hoping one of them could tell me how to exorcise that little demon Happoooo---oh Shit…SHIT!!"

"What?! What's Wrong?"

"The freak didn't bother me today…AT ALL!" he cried. "I think he still believes Ryoga's a girl!! I gotta go home…shit…I can't believe I didn't think about that!!"

The chase was on. Ranma didn't wait for them. He took off in a sprint, using the speed to launch himself a distance of half the block and land near the end of it. The girls watched them in awe. They'd never seen Ranma move like that! They weren't about to lose him either. They took off after him, already aware of the chosen path he'd take in order to get home faster.

They barely kept up with him. One moment he was on the streets, the next he was running on fences, and then leaping rooftop to rooftop. He only leapt down when he spotted the street he needed to cut through the alley. He landed in front of the doors to the Cat Café, missing the astonished looks on Mousse and Shampoo's faces. Akane and Ukyo bolted past them seconds later, piquing he curiosity of the Amazons.

Well, Shampoo at least. Mousse was paying attention to someone else.

"What they up to?" Shampoo asked. "It look like emergency?"

"Why don't we go see?" Cologne suggested as she hopped out of the Café. "We're not open today anyhow, and what's left can wait."

"I no like look on Ranma face. Let's hurry."

Shampoo took off after the girls with Cologne right on her heels. Mousse was slower to follow, but eventually he did.

The shadowed figure he was staring at vanished into the darkness of trees.

Five minutes later, they were all at the entrance to the Tendo Household. Ranma had gotten there long before they had, but it didn't stop him from noticing that they had a little crowd going. Akane and Ukyo he expected, but Shampoo, Mousse, and Cologne?

"Why are you guys here??" he asked.

"Shampoo worry about Ranma. So Shampoo come see what wrong," Shampoo explained. "Ranma okay?"

"What is the matter anyhow?" Mousse asked. "I've never seen you move this fast…"

There was a disturbance in the air. Ranma froze for a second and it was a second too long. Ryoga's cry pierced the air, and he was up and over the fence tearing the ground from itself with every step he took.

The others followed through the gates and raced for the back of the house.

Ranma was there already, choking Happosai into a nice shade of purple.

"H-Hey…Ranma…How's it going?" Happosai strained to say. "Nice you're…back…so soon…eh?!"

There was a purple blur of old bones flying into another part of town with a busted nose. Ranma toyed with the thought of going after him, but Ryoga's arms flying around him kept him from it. He shivered and invited Ranma to take firm hold of him, wincing at the goose pimples along his lover's arms and back.

"Ryoga…"

"That pervert grabbed me." Ryoga cried softly. "He popped out of nowhere and just grabbed me! He splashed me with...Cold water and then grabbed my bare chest...Only I was a freaking male for crying out loud! I thought he only grabbed girls..."

Only Happosai would try to claim he was a ladies man. Ranma knew the truth, more than aware that the pervert didn't care who or what he grabbed. When he needed a fix, he got it any way he could. He vowed to smack some sense into the demon man when he decided to drag his carcass back. For now, he took Ryoga inside, hoping to get him warmed up before that chill turned into something worse.

Ukyo dropped to her knees and breathed deeply. Akane hunched over, stretching out the burn in her legs. First Kuno and Tsubasa, and now Ranma. What was with these chase scenes today? Mousse remained standing tall with his arms crossed, though he was inclined to look at Shampoo seething silently.

"And what is your issue now?" he asked. "Ranma said he was fine."

"Who that girl Ranma take into back?!" Shampoo cried.

Ukyo and Akane couldn't help it. They broke down and laughed hard at the poor girl. Mousse rolled his eyes skyward.

How much longer was he going to have to put up with this mortal?

* * *

**...In the bathroom...**

Ranma sighed irritably into the air and sunk down to his knees. He couldn't believe it. Well he could, but that wasn't an invitation for him to like any of this. The demon pervert had been upgraded to a full body beat down when he saw him next. He was going to drive his fist where the sun never shone and make sure that little old freak never thought about touching Ryoga again. Just this one time had left Ryoga in pain…and it was from luke warm water that was just too hot.

He kissed the palm of Ryoga's throbbing hands, whispering his apologies. There was nothing he could do about the red coating his arms and shoulders, but he could ease it. There was some Aloe somewhere around here from the last time it had happened to Ranma.

"Damn it…how did he know about that damn pressure point," he growled. "Shit…I'm so sorry Ryoga…I think he hit the full body cat tongue…"

"…maybe Cologne might have…another Phoenix Pill?"

Ranma shook his head. He wasn't about to go the old ghoul with this. "Nothing is free with her…nothing…"

"Well don't blame me for knocking the shit out of that dirty old man the next time I see him!"

"Who said I was? I'll help you bury the body…Ryoga...look at me...it'll be all right...you'll see..."

Somehow that was easier to believe when Ranma said it. Ryoga looked up and lost himself in those twin pools reflecting the universe within them. He could see the horizons of space, the edge of creation coming to life, and he felt himself filled with a love that made the pain of his burns vanish alongside his despair. Ranma's hands soothed away the red on his arms, willing the skin to become tanned once more. It wasn't enough to cure that pressure point being touched, but at least he wouldn't hurt tonight.

He took his hands into his own to pull Ryoga forward a bit, lowering his shields and showing him everything he could. His love, his worry, his determination…his happiness…everything that he felt for the young man in his arms looking for some solace their relationship tended to bring them. There was no sure way out of this strange situation, but he would fight for him if it meant losing it all.

Ryoga saw that and more, and didn't hesitate to show him. He kissed him, soundly, lovingly, and gently, breathing in the soft scent of the earth covered in the dust of the universe.

The door to the bathroom opened, and the universe centered itself in Ranma's eyes once again. There was a flicker, barely there, but Ryoga saw it and smiled in response to the silent declaration.

Akane peeked her head in and spied them sitting there on the edge of the tub. "Hey, guys…I just wanted to tell you that no one's going to be home until late. Oh, I put the groceries you bought away and your books in your room Ranma."

"Thanks…where is everyone going?" he asked.

"Um…I'm going out to meet up with some friends. Nabiki is at a friend's house for a while to help baby-sit, and Kasumi is paying a visit to Tofu for the afternoon."

"Pops and your old man are gone?"

"Vanished. I think they are trying to find a way to get rid of Happosai while he's gone."

"He's not coming back anytime soon," Ranma said. "He would have been back by now."

"I think you might have knocked him unconscious."

"Serves him right ..." Ryoga growled. "Dirty Bastard."

"Well I'm going to get ready now, and I'll let you know when I leave?"

"Hey Akane?" Ranma asked. "Could you knock next time?"

"Oops! Sorry. Anyway I won't be back till eight so I'll see you guys, okay?"

"Sure."

Akane slid the door closed and ran off to get ready. Ranma sighed and put his head on Ryoga's lap thinking of ways to help him get out of this. Ryoga let his fingers run through the soft thick black of his mane, caressing his scalp and thinking of nothing. He was content to be like this.

They stayed that way until they heard another knock and Akane saying that she was leaving.

Ranma waited until he heard the door lock from below to lift his head up off of Ryoga's lap and stare at him with lust filled eyes. Ryoga returned the gaze with a small smile as Ranma stood up and held out a hand to him. Ryoga grasped his warm hand it and let himself be hoisted up to his feet and out of the bathroom.

Ranma led them to their room after closing up everything in the house sliding the door shut behind him. He pulled Ryoga close to him, running his fingers up his smooth thigh and up the towel he had tied around his waist tracing his figure with his index finger. He was so firm and yet so soft. He was too soft as a woman. It just didn't feel like Ryoga. He let his thoughts linger for a moment before looking up into those soft brown eyes.

"You are so cute." Ranma sighed closing their distance a bit. He watched the slow burn reach his cheeks and kissed those tender lips softly. "So cute...no beautiful..."

Ryoga slipped his hands in Ranma's pants as their tongues clashed to obtain complete control over the other; a rather bold move in the past when they first became intimate that year ago. Somehow he managed to pull out his shirt and unbuttoned it with a quick hand exposing his bare chest underneath. He slid his hands up his chest, brushing against those hardened nipples earning a delicious moan from his lover.

He regained control of the kiss that seemed to want to last forever, kneading Ranma's broad chest and moving along till he reached his shoulders. Feeling the offending Material, he brought his hands down across his muscular arms next slipping his shirt off. Ranma paid the shirt no mind, bringing his bare arms up to slide over the lost boy's slender waist and pull him closer. Ryoga tugged at his pants slightly, making them fall to the ground in a heap with the rest off his clothing alongside his boxers.

"How'd you do that?" Ranma gasped softly breaking the kiss.

"I'm a martial artist silly." Ryoga breathed.

Ranma smiled at Ryoga and kissed him again with kiss swollen lips of a deep pink. Stepping out of the heap of clothing beneath his feet proved to be no burden. Ranma undid the knot tying his towel around his waist and pushed up against him, sighing in content at the contact of heated flesh. Again he watched Ryoga's cheeks burn from the intimate touch.

"So cute when you blush," Ranma said nuzzling his neck. "What do you want?"

"You...only you...Ranma..."

It was funny how emotional Ryoga became whenever they were alone. Maybe it was a stress reliever from acting like he never cared. That was changing, he noticed, as the days rolled by. Ranma eased him down onto the floor, reassuring his lover it was all right as he always did, whispering gentle praises to worship his body and soft vows of love. Ryoga relaxed under Ranma's tender kisses across his neck and chest, reveling in his warmth. His weeping cock began to drip from the gentle thrusting Ranma provided.

"Gods...Ranma please..." he moaned as his lover pressed a kiss against his chest and latched onto a brown nub of erect flesh. Ranma suckled gently for awhile, Ryoga's breath quickening with every passing second. He needed more; desired more of Ranma and thrust his hips up firmly letting out a sigh of satisfaction for the stimulation and letting Ranma know what he wanted. Ranma accepted by running the tips of his fingers across his stomach, gently slipping a hand between them to lightly stroke the weeping head of his lover. Soaking up the wetness on his fingers, he'd left his position to bring them to his lips. He tasted the bitter sweet fluid and took Ryoga's lips in another bruising kiss.

"Sweet," Ranma whispered against him. "Can I have more?"

"Help yourself…" Ryoga breathed. "But be gentle."

Ranma nodded his head softly before kissing his way down to his goal. He kissed his neck a few times making sure to leave a love mark in his favorite spot. He trailed down to his chest suckling on those prized nipples for but a moment. He ran his fingers across his smooth belly leaving a trail of kisses down to the area just above his erection. He cupped his sac gently, placing a kiss on the sensitive spot at the base of it. He could almost feel Ryoga's body demanding what it wanted, the faint shivers giving it away. He nuzzled that sign of Ryoga's attraction for him for a short moment, placing sweet kisses along the underside of it, teasing the tip of it with his tongue. It jerked to life in his hands; he smiled hearing a deep groan from his lost one.

"Ranma...Ranma please..." Ryoga groaned.

Ryoga groaned at heat building up in his belly and let out a silent cry as he was taken into that warm wet mouth. It took everything he had not to thrust up into in, letting Ranma pleasure him. He didn't know how or when, but he was too engrossed in the many talents of that tongue before feeling two slick fingers tease at his opening. He arched up a bit giving better access to Ranma, who prodded him gently until his fingers were eased in. He stretched him gently only adding a third finger when he was sure Ryoga had been stretched enough and keeping Ryoga occupied still teasing him.

Ranma lifted his gaze at the sound of Ryoga's breath quickening as his body prepared for release. Ranma noticed it he pulled his mouth away, hearing a cry of protest. Licking his lips of the bitter sweet fluid that continued to leak, he pulled his fingers out earning another moan of protest as he slid back up to meet him face to face. He was slightly covered in a thin sheen of sweat and his panting eased a bit, tumbling down from his close call.

Somehow reality reached the foggy cloud of pleasure in his head and he managed to wrap his arms around Ranma's neck as Ranma positioned himself and began to push at that tight ring of muscle. He never thought to question how Ranma always managed to slick himself up or produced lube out of nowhere, but that question was thrown into the back of his mind along with all other reality. Their eyes met with an unspoken question.

He nodded slightly. He was ready.

"You sure?" Ranma whispered against his cheek.

"Yeah," Ryoga breathed knowing Ranma wouldn't be able to stop once they were joined. Not that he would want him too. "Take me..."

"I love you so much."

"Then make love to me..."

He pushed inside of him slowly, until he was past that tight ring and only his tip was sheathed. He would have kept on going slowly if not for Ryoga's sudden jerk, impaling him fully with one thrust that would have sent him into his prolonged orgasm if he would have kept moving like that.

Ryoga arched his back at the sensation of being filled and grabbed onto Ranma's back in slight pain. Ranma looked down to Ryoga with a look of concern but he just looked up at him with hazed eyes as pain became immense pleasure. A slight nod from his lover and Ranma kissed him softly as he began to thrust himself slow and tenderly. He whispered little vows of love against him, kissing those lips which were moist and swollen. Ryoga said nothing, only moaned--too engrossed in feeling Ranma move in him. He could swear he would drown in him one of these days and urged him on pushing up to meet his thrusts.

The pace was steady at first, with Ranma poking around in play, deliberately missing the right spot to provoke. Ryoga shifted his hips, telling him in motion to stop playing. Ryoga screamed out involuntarily when he angled his hips and dove deep, provoking that sensitive spot deep within him. The result ended with Ryoga rocking his hips faster driving Ranma deeper. Ranma matched his pace as he began to rock faster against his hips, struggling to control himself as he felt the slickness of Ryoga's heated walls clamp around him from time to time.

Ranma put everything his heart felt for his love into each tender thrust as he always did, but there was something different about now. Something about the way Ryoga's chest rose and fell, the way he struggled to hang on, how he bit his lip to keep from screaming as he angled himself and tortured the sweet spot that made the world hazy in his lover's eyes. He kept his eyes on him, filling him with his cock, thrusting until that strange feeling took hold and had him gasping in ecstasy.

The strange power he felt flowed from him into Ryoga, causing him to grip Ranma's shoulders and shudder in a effort not to explode.

Ryoga felt him. He felt Ryoga.

Their minds connected and their worlds collided.

Ranma looked into those eyes staring up at him, lowering his shields again and letting the universe speak for him. It sung, brightly and brilliantly, swirling around the two lovers seeking a moment of peace in the madness that had surrounded them. Ranma pushed his love toward Ryoga, and felt him give it right back, warming him from the inside out. He'd never felt so alive…so free…

The connection that brought them closer exploded between them and a force took hold to bind them together.

Ryoga lost it, screaming against Ranma, his cock spraying them in short white bursts that marked them both. Ranma grunted, head bowed and hips thrusting once more as he was milked into completion. He let himself go, buried deep and warm, spilling his seed into the one place that would see no other aside him. He kept himself there and refused to budge, even when Ryoga collapsed from the effort of his orgasm.

"Ranma..."

Whatever that strange power was, it left him drained. He collapsed into Ryoga's arms, still buried to the hilt and not moving for the life of him. Ryoga let him rest, hands gently rubbing his back. He looked up to the open window and for a moment, he thought he could see the moon at its fullest. It wasn't uncommon, but the strange blue tint he saw was questionable.

Ranma eventually slipped loose, spent and tired, but sated and grateful. That connection was still there. He still felt Ryoga as he felt the sun. With whatever strength he had left, he used it to hug Ryoga close to him and buried his face in those disheveled locks. He couldn't believe this feeling…

"What are you thinking about?" Ryoga asked softly.

"You…how many ways I can make you happy...how many ways I can be with you..."

His only response was a soft pinch that was half hearted and told him to stop it. He was always like this after making love, and Ryoga would have none of it now. "Ranma…I don't care about the fiancées, the trouble, or any of that stuff," he whispered. "I just want to be close to you…"

"I know..." Ranma said sitting up a bit on his elbows. He leaned over placing a chaste kiss on his lover's lips to seal that promise again. "But in the meantime...what are going to do about that full body Cat tongue crap Happosai put on you?"

"We could try the old crone," Ryoga suggested, "but like you said…she may want something."

"Only one way to find out then…"

Ranma sat up from where he once lay and stretched out his arms slightly. He reached over to the damp towel, cleaning himself off and then Ryoga. Ryoga tensed feeling his skin react to the sensitive nerves in his body, but it was over before anything could really hurt. Ranma's fingers soothing the ache away had a good bit to do with it.

"I'll never let anything hurt you…"

"I know…"

Ranma stood up in one fluid motion, walked over to where his dresser was and pulled out a pair of boxers. He slid them on quickly then put on his usual white tank top. Ryoga lie there for a moment until he tossed him a tank top and a pair of boxers as well.

"Do you want to wear my blue shirt or my white one?"

"White."

This was something Ryoga always treasured. They lived as if they were always living together, sharing each other's clothes and something more. He didn't really know what that was exactly but the intimate gesture was enough to make him love him more on so many levels. He couldn't fully express everything vocally but he knew Ranma knew. So he said nothing and threw him a warm smile.

"Thanks." he said pulling the sleeveless shirt over his torso. "So what are you planning?"

"Don't know yet. Which one?" he said holding up two pairs of pants.

Ryoga shook his head softly and pointed out which one he wanted after slipping on his boxers. "The black ones. What do you mean you don't know?"

"We'll think something on the way." That was always his plan! Ryoga rolled his eyes but couldn't help but smile at his antics.

"So what do _**I**_ have to do?"

"Just stand there and look like you do...and make Shampoo really mad."

Ryoga blinked. "How?"

"You're my boyfriend...although she doesn't know that, but being close to me will make her really mad," he smirked. "Know thy enemy...Know thyself."

Ranma finished dressing himself as Ryoga came up from behind and hugged his waist tightly. Ranma laughed softly at Ryoga's silly smile when he looked behind him then shifted himself in a position where he was facing him. He whispered to him what he wanted him to do say. He laughed deeply when he saw the smirk plastered on Ryoga's face. He hugged him tightly and kissed him softly on his forehead.

"You are so bad," Ryoga laughed against him. "Are you sure?"

"Totally."

* * *

......moving on. XD


	4. Second Glance

AN:

Okay....this is where it gets somewhat AU. I might lose you...then again I might not. ^-^ We'll see.

BTW: You will see the sensitivity issue with the Full BODY Cat Tongue in the beginning of this chapter, and later on in other instances.

* * *

**Second Glance: **

The evening air was cool against his skin. Before it wouldn't have bothered him, but now the slightest change was noticeable. He felt everything, from the warmth of Ranma's hand in his own to the heat of the wisps of smoke drifting from the pipes of old men sitting on outside to enjoy the clear evening. The bubbles children blew were like small bursts of ice, and the cool minty breath of Ranma's kisses were a mix of cold and hot. Walking in the mixture of evening fading into the life of the night, Ryoga simply inhaled it all and breathed.

A feeling of peace washed over him, and for a moment, the world seemed right.

Ranma leaned into him, kissing him soundly ignoring the hustle and bustle of the city around them. Ryoga closed his eyes in bliss and let himself drift until the familiar sounds of old acquaintances pushed past that veil of deliria.

He pulled away and started to let his hands go, but Ranma kept firm hold of them and him.

"Ramna…"

"Really not giving a flying you know what about anyone else," Ranma said.

"But—"

He was interrupted by the grown forms of Hiroshi and Daisuke tugging at Ranma's shoulders. He pulled Ryoga with him, glaring at the idiots that tried to turn him around. Daisuke huffed and put his hands on his hips in annoyance. Hiroshi crossed his arms and stared at Ranma. Ranma gave them a look to rival their own, never once letting go of Ryoga's hand.

A moment passed. And then another. Ranma was set to stay like this, but Daisuke's slow smile broke the tension that was never there. "Jeez, you got that look about you," he joked slapping Ranma on his shoulder. "It's a lot better than the look you wear when Akane is around."

"You mean that sick look of eating something bad, which is only half the time?" Ranma joked back.

"Akane still can't cook?"

"How often do miracles happen?"

Hiroshi laughed and tugged at Daisuke's shirt. "Come on you. We have to get to my parents before they have heart failure," he said. "You can call him later!"

"Right, right. Hey Ranma," Daisuke said before he could be pulled along, "Don't let him go, okay? He's good for you."

Hiroshi finally tugged Daisuke along, keeping a firm hold on his arm and telling him what to expect at the house. Daisuke could only smile at him and wave at Ryoga and Ranma staring after them.

"Hmm…who knew?" Ramna mused. "I'll have to call him later."

"Why?"

"To compare details. I wanna know if Hiroshi screams."

Ranma fully accepted the punch coming his arm's way and laughed at Ryoga's annoyed look. He rubbed his arm, not that he needed to, but it kept him from sweeping Ryoga up into his arms and kissing him senseless. They were out here for a reason after all.

"You ready to Make Shampoo mad?"

"I suppose."

It was as much as a yes as he was going to get. He took Ryoga's hand again and headed down the street and eventually walked into the Nekohanten's doors.

The place was nearly deserted. Ranma wasn't expecting it to be empty, but Cologne tended to close the place down from time to time to do whatever weird thing she did. They didn't see anyone at first, but Shampoo appeared a moment later with a mop and bucket in hand from the back.

The squeal of happiness that followed threatened to break his eardrums.

"Airen! You come see Shampoo yes?!"

She ran over to hug the stuffing out of him, but her face met the palm of a waiting Ryoga standing in her way. He calmly shoved her backwards, ignoring the daggers of her eyes stabbing him to death.

"What pig-boy doing here?" she growled. "Not try to hurt Ranma!"

"Oh, far from it," Ranma smirked. "But we are here for a reason."

Ranma eased himself to stand behind Ryoga, slipping his arms around his waistline and holding him with a small sway. Ryoga leaned into him, forgetting about Shampoo and concentrating on the too warm arms keeping him heated in this icy room. He was never going to get used to this sensitivity. Hopefully he wouldn't have to.

Shampoo gawked at them. "Ranma, why you hold pig boy like that?!" she cried.

"Cause that's what lovers do," Ranma teased.

"Wha?!"

"Shampoo, what is all that noise about?!" Cologne called from the back of the counter. She peeked her head around and spied her answer waving at her. "Oh…Son-in-law! What brings you here?"

"We need to talk," Ranma called. "You mind?"

Cologne hopped from behind the counter. It had to be serious if he wasn't calling her an old crone or ghoul. "What's the matter…besides Shampoo with her mouth open on the floor?" she asked. Shampoo closed her mouth and fixed herself again. The damage had been done. Cologne noted the tension between Ryoga and her granddaughter, and was certain it had to do with the soft way Ranma held that boy in his arms.

It looked like there was another fight in the making.

"So…what's happened?"

"That evil pervert pulled the Full Body Cat Tongue on Ryoga," Ranma explained. "He splashed him thinking he'd become a girl again."

"So can you still turn into a pig?" Cologne asked.

Ryoga shook his head. "P-chan and I…have gone our separate ways…" he said, remembering that fight he and Mousse had. It was still a shock to the system that he didn't change. "He splashed me with the instant stuff. I was a girl once…and that was it."

Cologne rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Just as I thought, that meddlesome Mousse is far too clever...I'm going to have to catch him one day," she muttered.

"Mousse... what's this about Mousse?" Ranma asked.

Cologne just shook her head and said, "Never mind. So, Happosai eh?" Cologne frowned. So that man could go both ways as a pervert. Sick. "You poor thing, I just happen to have a Phoenix pill on me."

Ryoga blinked. "You do?"

"Sure...but not everything is free Ryoga, You know that."

"I knew it," Ranma sighed looking up to the ceiling. "What does he have to do?"

"Defeat Shampoo in a match."

"WHAT?!"

"It seems you and Ryoga are rather close, and since she is your wife and he your lover, it'd only be fair for them to settle matters for your heart."

Ranma growled. "No one is fighting. If you want someone to fight, it'll be and the person who even thinks about laying a hand on him!" he spat. "No one will touch him…not you, not her, not anyone but ME."

Cologne took that into consideration and agreed. "Very well. You fight me for it then. Like last time, you get it; I'll release you from your duty to marry Shampoo."

"Deal!"

"Good. Now, it's a good thing you're here," she said completely switching subjects. "We were doing some cleaning, and I came across something that might be relevant to your getting lost so often Ryoga."

She reached into her robes and pulled out a folded piece of paper. Ryoga took it from her, missing the quick jab of fingers until they had hit several points.

"What is it?" Ryoga asked. "And what did you just do?!"

"I just countered the effects of that pressure point." Cologne explained. "He won't feel heat after a certain point. No use in getting burned by everything. It's only temporary. After a week the pressure point will be back and it'll hurt about ten times more."

"Then why did you do that?!"

"Felt sorry for him. No one should have to endure that freak," Cologne muttered. "So I guess you better start training."

"You can bet your ass on it...but...what's this piece of paper?" Ranma asked looking at the paper still in Ryoga's hands. "What's the deal?"

"I found it the other day and I thought Ryoga would like to have it. It's a way cure his sense of direction. I mean it should clear up on its own in due time but why wait??"

He hated the way she smiled at him when she explained things so vaguely. "What do you mean by _**it should clear up on its own**_?" he growled. "Don't toy with me old woman!"

"Who said I was? Ryoga is special just like you son-in-law. You were both born under a blue moon."

How could she have known that? Pieces of information he never knew seemed to fly behind his eyes and break something else in his mind. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew it wasn't something to be handled lightly. He kept his guard up and eyed the little old woman staring at him on her cane. Sometimes she knew more than she let on, and she let that knowledge appear when it suited her.

What was she after this time?

"A…blue moon?" Ryoga asked. "What…is so special about that?"

"A blue moon is rare indeed…and every now and again, there are people born under it. When one appears, their destined is born under the second blue moon of the year. One is born under the second full moon of the month, and the other is born under an actual blue moon," she explained. "After looking back at your birthdates…I found that you were both born under such moons. With their birth these people carry a handicap…and most times its trouble following them, or their wandering away because they have no direction."

"Why...are you telling us this?"

"Simple. You may belong to someone else…Ranma may not be the one meant to find you."

"That's bullshit!" Ranma shouted. He moved away from Ryoga, getting in Cologne's face and daring her to say any more. She had plenty more to say, but her words were already effective. Ranma felt something violent stir in him, and she notably backed away from whatever that was. He shook himself of that violent feeling, settling back into anger and missing the burn of his fingers pressing into the wood of the table he leaned against.

"If you know…about such a thing…you would know when it happens," he hissed. "Do you?"

"On his twenty-first birthday," she said. "If you are his, then he won't wander off. If not, then you'll fall out of love."

"That WON'T happen! I won't let it!!"

"It's not up to you."

"That's what you think. Two weeks old woman…I'll defeat you and get that pill. And I'll be with him."

Shampoo had heard enough. Obviously Ryoga had done something to brainwash her husband to be. She growled and tried to tackle him to the ground, but Cologne stopped her with a look. She knew better than to go against her great-grandmother's silent requests, and this one was more important than the others. She wasn't happy about it, and let them know when she snatched the paper back from Ryoga.

"Come on, Ryoga…" Ranma said. "We'll deal with them later."

Before Ryoga was pulled away, he looked Shampoo up and down and snorted. "You're Butt Ugly."

"I'M WHAT?!" Shampoo roared.

"BUTT UGLY."

Ryoga was then lifted off of the ground by a pair of strong hands and carried away from and angry Shampoo, who blew up the minute he'd called her ugly.

"Come back here we fight now!!" Shampoo screamed. Cologne's tugging hand was the only thing keeping her from tackling him to the ground and doing as she pleased to his face. "I kill you stupid lost boy!"

* * *

…**Outside….**

Ranma put him down a few feet away from the entranceway, lost in his own conflicting thoughts. That old crone was rarely wrong about things like that, and when she said them, she said them for a reason. Ryoga's birthday was in a week. He hadn't thought about it much, thinking that he'd celebrate it as if it were another day. His heart twisted painfully in his chest, making it hard to breathe.

She was right.

Ryoga may not have been his…and all this…might have been for nothing.

He forced those thoughts back, shoved them down, and murdered them painfully. Ryoga was his. He'd always been his as much as he was Ryoga's. A blue moon wouldn't keep his heart from singing as brightly as it did when Ryoga was near him, or mourning as deeply when the man wasn't near him.

Just thinking about losing him…he felt the universe within him tremble, and it left him uneasy and sick.

"Ranma…"

"Ryoga..."

Ryoga put himself in Ranma's arms, letting him hold onto him as tightly as he could and shielding them from the possibility that this could happen. He felt Ranma's open worry, concern, and disdain for the possibility, but he felt his despair more over at the thought of loss. He pulled away and took Ranma's face into his hands, pressing their heads together and forcing Ranma to breathe.

It was hard, but eventually…he managed.

"If…this thing is true—"

"It's not!"

"My birthday is in a week, Ranma."

Ranma shook his head and pulled Ryoga back against him. He wouldn't believe it. He just wouldn't. "We've had it this long so why should it disappear?" Ranma said trying to sooth Ryoga more than himself. "I won't give you up…I can't…I need you…"

"Ranma..."

* * *

**... At Home Later... **

Akane walked into the house with a loud sigh and pulled off her shoes. How many times did they have to go into that dumb shop to see that boy? Honestly her friends could be weird. At least it was over.

She locked the door, dropping her stuff by her discarded shoes. She could get that later, she thought running her fingers through her hair. Exhaustion threatened to overwhelm her so she toyed with going to bed, until she heard the protest of her rumbling stomach.

"I need something eat," she groaned.

Couldn't they have grabbed something more than a drink from the shop? She hadn't eaten since lunch, and eight going on nine was not an ideal time for her to be remembering food. Her stomach growled again.

It won.

"Hello?? Is anyone home?" she called. While she hoped someone was home, she hoped that someone had made something resembling food. "Hello??"

"In here Akane!"

That voice was Ranma's. Joy spread through her to her stomach and kept it quiet for a moment. _**Bingo! Ranma might have made something... **_

Akane followed the source of his voice into the living room. Ranma was there, lying down and watching the television in boredom. Ryoga was with him, though he was sound asleep and curled under a thick blanket. She didn't understand why. There wasn't that much of a chill tonight. As she came closer, she noticed that P-chan was with them, curled against Ranma and sleeping heavily without a care in the world.

That still wasn't sitting right with her.

She walked in further and sat down aside him, careful not to wake Ryoga or P-chan. Just her luck, there wasn't a sign or scent of food in sight.

"So what are you watching?" Akane asked trying to get her mind off of food. It wasn't working but she could try.

"Martial arts competition," Ranma sighed lazily.

"Boring?"

"Sort of. There's nothing else on." He was going to say something else, but he heard it, and watched Akane turn crimson with embarrassment. It was a good thing he made dinner. "There's food in the kitchen."

"Wow! Thanks."_** Yes!**_ Ranma blinked watching Akane disappear and reappear with a plate full of food. She grinned in satisfaction and sat at the table. "I hope it's as good as breakfast. When did you learn how to cook anyway?"

"I practice in my spare time." And he didn't feel like dying when she wanted to cook. It was better to learn and be able to have something rather than starve to death waiting on a free meal.

Akane nodded stuffing some of the food in her mouth and looked over to the sleeping figures. "He's still sick?"

"Happosai's fault..." Ranma muttered. "Damned pervert will get what's coming to him."

"What did he do now?"

"Pulled the Cat tongue on him," he said without going into detail. She didn't need to know the specifics of it. He kept his tone light and neutral, though the under tones of a painful beating were clear as he tapped fingers against the table. "Had to see the crone…"

"And?"

"And what?"

"What did she say Ranma?"

"Me against her in two weeks. She did make it so he doesn't burn himself, so I'll knock off a few punches."

"Oh. Poor Ryoga...he's stuck like this for the next two weeks." she said giving him a sympathetic glance. "Did anything else happen while I was gone? Happosai didn't come back?"

"No...Probably on a panty raid again."

"Yep and I just scored big time!!" Happosai shouted walking into the room.

Ryoga was up with P-chan, growling at the presence of Happosai in the room. Ranma whipped his head around, feeling that same violent twist resurface for a second. He pushed it back away, letting his anger show through his clenched fists and the spark of blue that threatened to manifest itself if he let this feeling erupt.

Happosai paid them no mind.

"Ah tonight was a good night! Got more undies than I ever did before!" he laughed. "Where's Genma and Soun?"

Ranma cracked his knuckles, getting to his feet. Ryoga was aside him, working the kinks out of his neck as he thought of several ways he was going to lay a hurting on that pervert. P-chan was even on his feet, snorting and scratching at the floor with a hoof. All he needed to do was move the wrong way.

Happosai stared at them. "Akane my dear…what's wrong with them?"

"Hey don't look at me!" Akane snapped. "This is your fault."

"What did I do?" Happosai asked trying to play innocent.

"Don't play dumb with me!" Ryoga shouted angrily. "Thanks to you, I can't bathe properly!"

"Bwee!!" P-chan snorted.

"And I still owe you a pounding for not listening to me." Ranma growled. "I told you **not** to touch him. You little shit! How dare you pull that pressure point move on him?! You're dead!!"

"I'm not so easy to kill you know." Happosai smirked. "Let's see what you got."

They charged him, not giving him any leeway to escape.

Happosai stood in the doorway, dropping down into a fighting stance and bracing himself for the shortest fight in his existence.

Akane didn't have to watch, so she ate her food and flipped through the channels.

* * *

**...Minutes Later... **

"Come on!! I said I was sorry!! Let me go!!" Happosai cried pathetically. "Let me go!! I've learned my lesson!"

"No way." Ranma growled. "You'll stay up there until I _**let**_ you down."

"Can't I at least have one sweet cake?"

"No!!" Ranma, Ryoga, and Akane shouted.

Happosai whined and struggled to free himself of his bonds as he dangled helplessly off of the branch of the tree over the Koi pond. Ranma, Ryoga, P-chan, and Akane watched from within the house, munching on some sweet cakes Ranma had made earlier. Ranma popped grabbed the last one off the plate and popped in his mouth, causing Happosai to cry out in agony.

"The big Baby," Ranma sighed. "He's such a jerk..."

"Serves him right," Ryoga said munching on the last of his own dessert. "He needs to be taught a lesson."

"So how long are you going to leave him up there?" Akane asked.

"Until he gets loose, which won't be for a few hours with those knots I tied," Ranma chuckled.

"So…you're fighting Cologne for real? You think she'll go easy on you?"

Ranma snorted. "No. She'll be even more devious. You gonna watch?"

"I wouldn't miss this for all the Ramen in the world!"

"Can I come too?!" Happosai yelled. "I'll be good!! I promise!!"

"Shut up!" Ryoga screamed hitting the old man with a rock. "Don't talk to us!"

"Why is Grandfather Happosai tied up like that?" a voice asked.

They looked over to the open doors to see Kasumi. Outside, Soun was standing next to a Panda using Happosai as a piñata over by the tree. Soun swung hard and whacked him a good one when Genma hadn't moved Happosai like he was supposed to. Akane and Ryoga fell to the floor in laughter when Ranma grabbed a stick and joined in with the Panda.

"Hey Leave some for me!"

* * *

I know. I know. Just....bear with me. It's about to turn to the FAR left in a moment. :)


	5. My only love

**AN:**

And here we go...the set up for the extreme AU.

Oh...and there's another LEMON in here.

Shampoo lovers BEWARE. She gets a little bashing in here...and I still think she's a little nuts.

* * *

**A Few Days later:**

Ryoga pulled ahead of Akane and Ukyo and leapt up behind Ranma on top of a roof. Akane and Ukyo followed ditching most of the mob and went from rooftop to rooftop ducking into an alley when they landed on the ground. They made a sharp turn around a corner and made a mad dash for the Tendo household.

"Why are they following us?!" Akane screamed.

"Stupid Kodachi's fault!" Ukyo shouted.

"But I'm a guy for crying out loud!!" Ryoga cried.

" To them we're meat!!! And some of the guys are bisexual!!" Ranma hollered. "Quick dive in!"

Ranma shoved the door open with his shoulder and tripped onto the floor. Ryoga tripped up behind him along with Akane and Ukyo and they looked back to see the mob of boys closing in. They screamed in unison, bracing themselves but Genma panda jumped in the way at the last minute and roared loudly. The boys freaked out and ran away, leaving four exhausted young adults and a laughing Panda in their wake.

"Thanks pop." Ranma sighed.

Sign:: **No problem**

"Why were they following you anyway?" Soun asked coming to the front.

Why else? In another random moment of sheer insanity, Kodachi had shown up out of nowhere, laughing insanely with the proclamation of undying love for none other than Ranma. The girl was sick in the head, but she was deadly when it came to her toxin and her knowledge of the chemistry she studied. She could mix anything together and make it work, and her latest toxin was a love potion in a perfume bottle she meant to spray on herself to attract Ranma to her.

It didn't quite work that way. Someone had bumped into her, knocking the bottle out of her hands and breaking at Ranma's feet. Before they knew it, it was splashing up on their clothes, and then they were running for their lives as the townsmen caught a whiff of them and pursued.

"All Kodachi's fault!" Ranma spat. "She needs to be locked away and banned from all chemicals!"

"It's only on our clothes though," Akane said. "We should change…and maybe bathe just for good measure."

"I should go home," Ukyo sighed. "I left Tsubasa by himself."

"You really think that's wise Ukyo? You still have that that gunk on you." Akane pointed out. "They'll be after you as soon as they smell it!"

"You've got a point...I'll just borrow some of Ranma's clothes then."

Ranma pointed her in the direction of his room and instructed her not to take the "good" stuff. Ukyo stuck her tongue out at him and went upstairs with Akane, never noticing the confused look Akane was giving the both of them. When had they gotten to be "busom" buddies?

Ranma in the meanwhile, directed Ryoga and himself towards the waiting bathroom. It would do them no good to stand here smelling of the stuff.

Genma Panda and Soun walked back into the house to continue their game of Shogi. Just another day in Nerima.

* * *

**... In the bathroom... **

Ranma had walked into the bathroom to see the tub filled with steaming water. He paused, causing Ryoga to bump into him. The door closed, and Ranma tensed as something leapt from the corner and splashed them both with cold water.

Ranma-chan growled and screamed when she felt the familiar presence of a bald head rubbing itself on her ass. Those old shriveled hands tried to pull a fast one, but Ryoga's bull rage caught it and him, snatching the little old man from Ranma-chan's body and holding him up by the collar of his gi.

"Hey there…you're looking a little blue," Happosai chuckled. "Why not hop in the bath? I set it up just for you!"

Ryoga, shivering violently from the sudden rush of cold and the heightened sense of his nerves working against him, tightened his grip.

Happosai didn't even see it coming.

* * *

**Out in the Hallway**

Kasumi was sweeping the floor, humming a little tune just to pass the time a little quicker. She stalled a bit as she came to the bathroom door, stepping back as the door flew open and out came Happosai. He landed on the floor hard, groaning and rolling over to reveal just how black and blue his little body had become in a short period of time.

She swept around him, and eventually picked him up by the collar of his gi. "Can't you behave yourself just once?" Kasumi asked. "You really need to leave those two alone."

Happosai groaned and said nothing more.

* * *

**... Back in the Bathroom... **

"Can this day…get ANY stranger?!" Ranma exclaimed. "Where the hell did that girl come from?!"

Ryoga didn't know. He found it quite odd that Kasumi would show up like she did, but then again, this was Nerima they were talking about. After dunking Ranma into the tub to change him back to normal, Ranma had practically carried him into the warm waters, getting him to warm up quickly. Thanks to Cologne's slight trick, the water didn't burn him like it should have. He was grateful then that he didn't still turn into P-chan. He didn't think he could handle being a pig 24/7.

"Hey…we'll get it fixed," Ranma murmured, kissing his shoulder. "Don't you worry about it. Just try not to be splashed by any cursed water…okay?"

Ryoga nodded, reaching up to trace the strong curve of his cheek with his fingers. This wasn't the same boy he'd chased those four years ago trying to keep up with him. No…this boy was a man who'd been through much in order to keep a firm hold of what he believed in. He believed in them, and that was enough to erase any doubt of whatever Cologne had suggested. They would be together…in some way, shape, or form.

Ranma'a hands drifted a little lower, the tips of his fingers tracing the soft sculpted skin of his lover resting against him. Lazy moments like this were worth the nonsense it took to get them.

"What…do you want for your birthday?" he asked quietly.

Ryoga leaned further into him, fingers gently playing with the long pigtail sitting silently on Ranma's shoulder. "Besides you…nothing really," he sighed. "Maybe to take a bath normally…"

"Mmm…I'll work on it…I might even make it an early gift."

"You're not heading over there today, are you?"

"Nah…" Ranma shifted his weight a little and hugged Ryoga closer to him, enjoying the warmth in sleepy content. "Knowing Shampoo…she'll pop up out of nowhere. It always happens when we get into trouble…"

"With what? Another wild way to get you to love her?"

"Yep. But wait till she gets a load of this."

"You are bent on making her mad aren't you?"

"Let's just say I owe her for a lot of trouble she has caused me."

Ranma's hands took on a new path and a new mission. One traveled upward, pinching the soft sensitive flesh of his chest and kneading the brown nipple into pleasurable hardness. The other traveled lower, taking hold of the awakening cock and pumping it gently through the warm water. His reward was a low moan of desire, Ryoga arching into his touch and breathing harshly as the dual sensations became overwhelming. Ranma added his lips to the mix, kissing the strong juncture of his neck and suckling the wet patch of skin softly.

"Ranma….someone could walk in…" Ryoga breathed, clearly not caring about what he said. Ranma didn't care either, lost in the scent and touch of his lover wrapped in unbridled ecstasy. "Ranma…"

"Let them..." Ranma said. "I just want to please you."

Ranma slipped his hand lower, reaching beneath Ryoga and slipping his fingers easily into the sculpted folds of his ass and tracing circles around the puckered opening twitching at his touch. Ranma's cock had been hard since they'd gotten in here, but the sounds coming from his lover were making him dizzy and painfully aware of how much he wanted some relief. Yet seeing his lover lose it made him reign in his own needs. He kept at it, soon slipping one finger fully into the tight warmth.

It was gone a second later, and Ryoga was sitting in his lap staring down at him.

"You know....you really have to quit that." Ryoga breathed drinking in the feel of heated flesh on flesh.

"Quit What?" Ranma moaned. He was right there…Ryoga had positioned himself right over the tip of his hard cock, teasing him with the unbelievable heat. Ryoga pushed a little more, smiling as Ranma's head swam.

"Pleasing me...then not pleasing yourself."

In an instant he was buried to the hilt, biting his lip to the point of bleeding just so he wouldn't scream and come. Ryoga gave him no leeway, raising himself up and falling down, giving into the frantic pace and churning the fire sitting hot and low in his belly. Ranma's hands reached out to grab his waist and steady him, his hips moving of their own volition and meeting Ryoga every time he came crashing down. It seemed like forever…the feel of him, the smell of him…the way he looked as he lost himself…

And it all heightened itself in one pure moment of joy and pushed him over the edge. Ranma threw his head back and nearly screamed, his cock bursting and unloading deeply into Ryoga. Ryoga nearly unseated himself, his own cock spurting between them and leaving him breathless. He only came back to himself when Ranma buried his head against his chest, breathing deeply and kissing his wet skin lazily and full of love. Even then Ryoga was on cloud nine, never quite hearing the approaching footsteps headed for the bathroom.

Ranma opened one sapphire eye as the door opened itself.

It was like the girl fed off of the scenarios in his head. Only Shampoo would find the time to pop in unannounced, take out in hand, and a loud "NIHAO!" dying on her lips when she realized what she'd walked in on. Just to make it a little more interesting, he lifted his head and kissed Ryoga on his lips, getting lost in the incredible way that tongue curled around his own.

Shampoo, red in the face and a swirling mass of embarrassment and anger, slammed the door shut.

"Maybe...now...she'll knock." Ryoga breathed in-between kisses.

"Maybe...but I sincerely doubt it," Ranma smirked. "Man…I love you…"

* * *

**...A bit later... **

They hadn't expected her to stay. Really they hadn't. Yet there she was, sitting at the table waiting on Ranma like any good wife would. Shampoo held her head high and said nothing, smiling contritely at Ranma and snidely at Ryoga. Ryoga paid her no mind. He was more interested in what was on the menu today.

Shampoo had a bad habit of coming over to the Tendo dojo unannounced and always with lunch for Ranma. If she didn't find him here, she always sought him out and fed him at some point of the day. Usually it was a mix of his favorite foods, both mandarin made and Japanese style. Today it seemed to be Cantonese cooked food, though there were stuffed rice balls for them to munch on as well.

Ranma grabbed one and pressed it to Ryoga's lips, smiling as Ryoga bit into it merrily. Ranma licked his fingers of the sticky treat and sat down, Ryoga sitting close to him and reaching over to take another piece for himself. Shampoo kept vigil and sat without a word, though she was seething inside with how many ways she could kill a man.

Whatever she was planning to do was interrupted when the other competition walked into the room. Akane and Ukyo sat down as if this wasn't anything new, and grabbed what they wanted without asking. Ranma always let them eat off of whatever Shampoo brought for him. That way she couldn't do anything to the food without him knowing it. It was a catch 22 situation for Ranma and Shampoo, Ranma catching the tail end of her wrath and Shampoo being thwarted at every turn. No one won…and that was fine for Ranma.

"So I see you are on time as usual Shampoo." Akane said sitting across from Ryoga. "I didn't hear you scream though."

Shampoo bit her lip and fought the blush rising in her cheeks. "Ai ya…Shampoo not want to disturb everybody."

"Really….well, today's meal is good," Ukyo said as she munched away. "You really are honing those cooking skills of yours. You'd make someone else a nice wife."

That remark stung her right between the eyes, but she didn't show it. Rather, she reached into the basket she'd brought with her and pulled loose four slices of a strange fruit that they'd never seen before. It smelt sweet and looked like it would melt in their mouths….but something about it put Ranma off.

"Shampoo brought very special fruit for Airen today," Shampoo exclaimed. "Is very good. Want try some?"

Ranma shook his head. The more he looked at it, the more he wanted to bolt out of the door. "No…no thanks."

Ranma went back to eating and making small talk with the others. No one seemed to notice as Shampoo gently plucked a seed from the flesh of the strange red-orange fruit and hold it between her fingers. Ranma said something to Ryoga, making the lost boy laugh hysterically alongside the others. It didn't matter what was said, just that his mouth was open and a target. She flicked the seed into his mouth, turning her attention to the ends of her hair innocently as Ryoga coughed and swallowed.

Ranma reached out to pat Ryoga's back, helping him up to get him a glass of water. Ryoga never made it more than a few steps. He fell forward, and he felt the sting of the air rushing past him as he collided with Ranma's outstretched arms. Everything was hot and cold, dark and light….things vibrating and going cold as the world spun and grew dimmer with every passing second.

Ranma frantically called for him to stay awake, urging the girls to get some help. Akane ran to get her father, and Ukyo ran to get some water. Shampoo remained seated, staring in horror as the color drained from Ryoga's face.

"Ryoga…no, RYOGA! Stay with me!" Ranma pleaded. "What happened?! What's wrong!!"

Ryoga shook his head weakly. He didn't know what was wrong. He only knew that he was sleepy…and he needed to close his eyes. Ranma shook him and begged him to stay awake. He kept his eyes open a bit, staring up into the worried depth of blue swirling out of control.

"Ryoga, listen….we made a promise, remember?!" Ranma cried desperate to keep him awake. "We're supposed to spend your birthday together….come on, I got you an awesome gift! Just stay awake…I promise I'll give it to you early! Ryoga….stay awake for me! Please! Don't leave me!"

Ryoga shook his head weakly and closed his eyes. "...Sorry...Ranma…"

He fell deep into his unconscious, drifting away from the warmth that was Ranma. Ranma felt something inside of him shatter, leaving him limp and frantic with panic and grief. The loud wail that left his lips shook the house, stirring everyone within it to life and had them running for the pair sitting in the middle of the room. Ranma rocked Ryoga back and forth against him, his only piece of sanity that the lost boy in his arms was still breathing…but barely.

He pressed his lips to his forehead, resisting the overwhelming urge to sob as he kept Ryoga close to him. "Please….please…." he whispered. "Please….just wake up for me…let me know you're okay…."

Something warm enveloped his heart…but it was brief and fleeting. Ryoga was still in his arms unresponsive, but he could feel him as if he were sleeping. Ranma didn't understand how he knew, but he knew what he felt was Ryoga…and he knew that the information swirling about in his head in a moment of clouded thought was not normal. He blinked away the tears from his eyes and lifted his head as Ryoga's voice projected itself in his mind.

_**Ranma….help me….**_

There was nothing more to that simple plea. Ranma grew aware of his surroundings and found himself being pried away from his love. He roared and clawed to get back to Ryoga, kicking his father in his head as he struggled to hold into the warmth swirling into a dank dark cold that rippled down to the core of his soul. He couldn't understand it…but he knew…he knew Ryoga didn't have much time.

He let himself be separated from his love, and ran from the house without a word.

* * *

:runs away from the mob:

Ryoga isn't dead! YET. Sooo....I guess you'll have to keep reading. XD


	6. A beginning

**AN:**

Okay....don't ask me where this came from. Just don't. I dunno. I thought about this YEARS ago...and now I'm trying to fix it, rewrite it, and finish it. Will there be other aspects of Ranma 1/2 in here? Yes, eventually. Right now...just GOING with the supernatural ninja flow. :)

Again...AU. AU!! And Shampoo lovers....beware again.

Characters are OOC at some points...like Mousse yelling at Shampoo. I know, I know! It just doesn't happen! :D

* * *

**My Only Love:**

Nothing had ever felt this empty before. Not even before he knew how much he loved Ryoga, had be found anything this meaningless before. It was as if he were walking through the still life of a picture, staring at it as life passed him by without a care in the world. Sound had no meaning. He simply ignored it, not listening to the gleeful cheer of children running around or the angry sounds of old men arguing with one another over a game of chess. He let it wash over him, not wanting to hear anything more than the voice that eluded him.

The passing winds rushed past his heated face, wiping the tears drifting from his eyes and humming the sound song of their love into his broken heart. It brought him little comfort, his head sinking into the chains of the swing he sat on and moving listlessly back and forth. Pieces of their life would flicker in his mind, and he'd be brought back to when he knew what happy was…when he knew what joy was. He'd reach out to take hold of it, but it would always go back to that moment…that moment where Ryoga was lying so still in his arms.

Where he was powerless to keep whatever it was that harmed Ryoga from doing its evil.

He wasn't dead…but it felt as if he was…and it tore Ranma up from the inside out.

Ranma clutched the fabric of his shirt before his heart, and sank a little lower. Maybe if he stayed here long enough…he'd die and find Ryoga again.

"Ranma?"

Someone was here; someone who knew that false piece of him still sitting here as if the world had driven his heart out of his body. He lifted his head and his eyes, staring at Akane standing before him out of breath. The girl had to have run quite the distance to get here. He didn't even remember how far he'd run…or where he was.

"Ranma…what's going on? Why did you run like that?"

She would have run too if her lover was virtually dead. He didn't tell her that. Rather he let his mind speak, relaying what came to the surface and still made no sense to him. "He's going to die…"

"What?!"

"He's going to die…if I can't save him…." Ranma murmured. "He's only got until his birthday…the blue moon…calls, and if he's taken like this…I can't live. I won't…"

"Blue moon? What about the blue Moon? Ranma...."

Something was stirring awake within him again. Much like that night Cologne had burdened him with the thought of losing him, he felt that stir and clamped onto it for once. "Cologne told us some nonsense about the blue moon. I can't explain it now...I just can't," he said. "It…it's complicated…"

"Ranma...."

"I need to help him…but I don't know how…"

"Well….maybe going home will help," Akane suggested. Ranma looked at the girl, blinking tiredly as she offered him a small smile of reassurance. "If…he needs you, shouldn't you be there?"

For once…she made some sense. Ranma nodded dully, slipping off of the swing and standing as she wrapped her arms around him. He looked to the skies and saw wisps of gray in the blue, the color of life dulling like the warmth of her arms wrapped around his waist.

He didn't like being this close to death…

* * *

**... At the House Later... **

He wasn't a doctor of internal practices, but he'd come at the urgent call of Kasumi. Dr. Tofu was busily checking Ryoga over in another room, wondering silently what could have done this to such a healthy young man. He'd never seen anything like this, and he didn't want to move him in case it put him in jeopardy. Calling the hospital with this was asking for a bunch of questions, and none of them could be answered by normal doctors. Something else was going on here….and he was sure it had something to do with the sweet smell of fruit he scented from Ryoga's weak breathing.

Ranma and Akane had found their way home moments after Dr. Tofu had arrived, and were waiting quietly or aimlessly in the room where most of this had started. Eventually Ranma couldn't take the waiting and walked into the dojo to take his mind off of what was plaguing him.

Ukyo had gone home quickly to close up shop and come back. She still hadn't returned. Shampoo, on the other hand, had remained where she had been since this started, disturbed and shaken at how quickly things had spiraled out of control. She didn't think such a thing was going to happen so quickly. She kept her mouth shut and said nothing, waiting for the inevitable showing of her great grandmother and Mousse.

They showed up rather quickly, more than alarmed when they discovered what had happened and why she hadn't come back. Cologne hopped into the room to help the good doctor, and Mousse remained out in the room staring at Shampoo as she avoided looking at him.

"Do you guys know what's wrong with Ryoga?" Mousse asked Akane lightly.

"No," Akane sighed thinking it over. "We…were eating, and he laughed at some perv joke Ranma made…and then he coughed…and passed out. Wait…why didn't we get sick?!"

Akane slammed her hands on the table, startling Shampoo into looking up. The glare she gave the Amazon was enough to kill a feeble man, and the open threat of Akane's fist slamming into her throat next kept Shampoo from doing anything stupid.

"Okay, Shampoo!" Akane screamed. "What did you do?! Spill it now!! Why didn't Ranma and I get sick and turn blue like that?!"

Mousse's aura quieted her anger quickly. His was unbelievable, pressing down upon them like the falling skies. "Did…you say…that he turned…**BLUE**?" he asked calmly. He was anything but calm, and putting daggers into Shampoo with his eyes the longer he stared at her. "Akane…did he grab his throat?"

"….yeah…he did. Why?"

He was too busy screaming at Shampoo to answer Akane properly. A few words in Mandarin flew right over her head, but he switched back to Japanese quickly, too angry to realize that he was flipping between languages.

"How could you GIVE that to him?!" he shouted at her, not caring that Shampoo bowed her head and shook it. "YOU KNOW that the fruit is practically poison for anyone who eats it BEFORE the BLUE MOON!!"

Akane cut in quickly, trying to calm his rage. "But Ryoga didn't eat that fruit she offered us, Mousse."

Things clicked….and Mousse had to be held back by Akane when he realized just what she'd done. "YOU GAVE HIM THE SEED?! ARE YOU CRAZY?!"

Soun and Genma came running from wherever they had been in order to help restrain the male Amazon. He spat at them in his native language, promising ten thousand deaths upon the girl sitting at the table unable to deny what she'd done. Cologne and Tofu came rushing out at the commotion, the elderly woman clearly shocked to see Mousse so riled up. Tofu was at a loss, but he surmised that it had something to do with Shampoo.

It took them a moment to calm everyone down, but Ranma choose that moment to show up again. The look in his eyes was that of the walking dead, finding no effort to live beyond the next moment. Cologne grew extremely alarmed at this. Had Ranma actually bonded with Ryoga before their judgment??

Ranma tilted his head slightly to the right. "What…is going on?"

"I know what's wrong with Ryoga!" Mousse shouted. "I KNOW…and it's Shampoo's fault! ALL OF IT!!"

"Then can you fill us in?" Dr. Tofu asked, "because if it's got anything to do with what Cologne suggested...we only have three more days."

Mousse quickly explained what was going on to Cologne in their native tongue. Cologne gasped quietly, alarmed at the extent of how far Shampoo had gone. Not only had she risked Ryoga's life, she endangered Ranma's and damned herself for an eternity. She groaned and held her head, berating her stupid impatient great granddaughter for her impulsive nature.

Shampoo could only hang her head, still not aware of how deeply in trouble she was.

"There is a mark on his head," Cologne said. Mousse grew still at the news, shuddering as he realized just what they were going to have to do. "We must hurry. Time is of the essence."

"Hey!! Can you speak to us now?" Nabiki exclaimed. She and Kasumi had walked in within the middle of the madness. Happosai was somewhere nearby, watching them curiously. "We want to know what's going on."

"Yeah...what is going on?" Ranma asked looking over at the shamed Shampoo. "And what's all Shampoo's fault?"

"Ranma…that fruit from today…you were weary of it, correct?" Mousse asked.

Ranma nodded slowly. "…..yeah. It didn't seem right…why?"

"That fruit is not meant to be eaten before or after a blue moon. It's an incurable poison that robs the eater of his or her energies. The seed is an enhanced toxin…if swallowed the victim dies in a matter of moments. Since Ryoga was born under a blue moon, the toxin has been stalled…but he will die on his birthday if we don't fix this now."

What was once the living dead grew lively and angry rapidly. Ranma's eyes shifted from blue to a strange bleeding red that drenched the battle aura surrounding his body in the blood of ten thousand men. The tears that fell from his cheeks were as red as the blood flowing from his clenched fingers digging themselves into the skin of his palm, dripping into the hardwood of the floor he stumbled against in his haste to get outside. Cologne was completely at a loss, never once having the privilege of seeing such a power awaken in such a violent manner. Ranma turned and grabbed at his chest, his face contorting in unspeakable pain as the world darkened, everything encased in the black cloak of the night and letting his screams fuel the power he needed to break free of the seals over his heart.

Cologne screamed for everyone to get back, but it was a bit late.

The power sent everyone flying into something or someone, ripping at anything and everything as the man within it lost himself to the overwhelming sense of loss. He hunched over and screamed louder, hands digging into his hair and pulling it, the madness crushing all sense of sanity and leaving him a shredded mess that didn't know how to deal. He wanted to find him…he wanted to find Ryoga and bring him back…he wanted Ryoga…

He felt the stabbing pain of something breaking free of his backside, flesh ripping as the unfamiliar feel of feathers freeing themselves startled him. His hair freed itself of its confines, flailing about him wildly as something burned itself in the center of his head. The pain was unbearable… and he screamed to the heavens as light encased him and washed away his image from all eyes.

The backlash from the wake of power charged across the yard and into the house, knocking them all over and tossing everything that wasn't anchored down loose. They all grabbed whatever they could to keep themselves from being blown away until a final burst of energy wrenched their fingers from their anchors and sent them flying.

The light chose to die then. Everyone, moaning and groaning from being tossed around like beanbags, lifted themselves up to find that Ranma…wasn't Ranma anymore. A different Ranma floated in the air, his head turned away from them. He was in no less pain than before, but it was a silent one.

The sight of his wings stole their breath away. They were of the deepest blues easily confused for black in the darkness. He was dressed from older times, garbs marked in a language that was dead for eons upon eons. The white of this robe and the black slacks reminded them of the garb that Mousse often tended to wear, though his clothing was nowhere as intricate and detailed as the ones upon Ranma's body.

He landed upon the ground, eyes still closed but facing them in their awe. His wings spread themselves to their maximum span, creating another tunnel of power that knocked them on their knees again. Cologne quickly lifted herself up again, weary of the fact that Ranma had not moved. Was he biding his time? Was he planning to kill them all if not the one responsible?

As blind men would walk in confidence, Ranma walked into the house without once opening his eyes. His every move seemed as if they were looking at the moon's rays rippling in the water unable to make a clear picture of whatever was shining. They moved out of his way wisely, highly aware that the mark on his head was glowing brighter with every second.

When he opened his eyes…the dark color of them swept them away in a sea of emotions, the most dominant of them was immense sadness. They could feel their hearts swell with the unbearable urge to bawl until there was nothing left to cry out of their eyes, and wither away until there was nothing left to breathe. He closed his eyes again, sparing them the empty void of nothingness he felt swallowing himself whole.

He was normal again in a single breath, and staring at them again with the same guarded look that had drawn Akane's questions so many times. Was this the reason why he never gave anything away? Did he even know about it? Were they destined to die because of one mistake?

"No...I'm not going to kill you," Ranma sighed wearily. "Or her...."

"I guess..." Akane stuttered trying to form her words from babble. "What...what was that?"

"I don't know."

"Huh? What do you mean I don't know???"

"I'm so tired...but to answer your question, I'm not sure what that was. I've never felt so alone....and so MAD..."

Ranma's eyes flashed from the guarded blue to the red that had started this before. Everyone braced themselves for a change, but Ranma shocked them again, reeling it in and staring at the table with his fists tightly clenched aside him. "Don't worry. I'm not going to change," he sighed letting go of some of his anger. "Not again."

"I wonder what your girl side would look like." Happosai wondered out loud. "Let's just see..."

"Don't mess with me old man unless you want to see a third side to me." Ranma growled.

"And what would that be?"

"Something you don't want to mess with you old goat so shut up," Cologne snapped knocking him upside his head. She ignored his wailing and knocked him again for good measure. He'd been around long enough to know not to mess with something like this.

Nabiki was the one to ask the obvious. "What are you talking about Cologne? What's going on? What's this about a Blue Moon and what's it got to do with whatever the hell just happened?"

Cologne quickly conveyed what she had told Ranma a few nights ago. About the Blue moon, and how people born under it are special. She kindly left out the obvious fact that Ranma and Ryoga were destined lovers, already having had enough of a display of power she'd like to keep in check. Ranma was grateful for that much, but said nothing as she delved into a different topic.

"People of a blue moon origin are special….born with talents beyond measure. They have three pieces of themselves….but those pieces are used in their skills. Love…Anger….and Death. These parts of them are stronger than most people, manifesting themselves if they or the ones they are meant to protect are ever in danger. Once that power is awakened, then it is theirs for the rest of their lives…and even after."

"What about this third power?" Happosai said jumping up and down. "I want to see it!"

"No you don't." Ranma sighed in annoyance. "And if we don't save Ryoga...you'll get your wish tenfold."

"Is that a threat?!"

"Consider this a warning..."

The blue guarded irises that gave nothing away turned black and deep with the promise of abyss lurking within them. Happosai froze and fell in the same breath, paralyzed to the point where breathing was a problem. Eventually Ranma let him go, shielding his eyes again and turning away from the writhing old man.

"It's a sad thing when one loses their destined," Cologne sighed.

"Destined?!" Soun and Genma cried in horror.

"But what happens if they lose their destined?" Nabiki asked ignoring the looks on their faces.

"I can't live….I don't want to live," Ranma murmured, sinking a little more as he felt Ryoga slipping further and further away. "I will never allow myself to feel anything similar…and I will die shortly after Ryoga dies."

"That won't happen!" Akane cried. She didn't want to lose Ranma anymore than she wanted to lose Ryoga. She shook her head, denying that anything like this could happen. "We're not going to let either of you die!"

"What's the deal with the fruit?" Nabiki questioned. "Why is it so deadly?"

"The fruit itself, if eaten anytime before the night of the blue moon, can kill any ordinary man. Like I said, It's practically a poison; insufferable, incurable after a certain point and always deadly." Mousse sighed glaring at Shampoo from over the rims of his glasses. "But if you were born under it...it doesn't kill you right away."

"What about the seed?"

"The seed should never ever be consumed before that day. It's harmless when ripe, but it can kill a regular person instantly. It will drain away the life force away from that person. If that person isn't cured at exactly midnight on that night, Ryoga will die and with him goes Ranma."

"And to make matters worse," Cologne added grimly, "Everyone who has placed harm upon Ryoga's head will die as a petition for peace."

"So if Ryoga dies, heaven forbid, Shampoo dies and so does Happosai?" Kasumi asked.

"Yes my dear."

"So how do we cure him?" Akane asked. "I know there is a way. There has to be…"

"There is," Mousse explained. "But we have to travel to get it. North of here, there will be a fountain that will appear. This fountain only appears when the blue moon appears. It's always in a different location, but by the moons we've been granted a miracle for a short time.

The water of this fountain cleanses anything. The waters must be sealed into Ryoga's mouth and swallowed before the fountain runs dry that night. Otherwise…"

"How far and how long?" Ramna asked. He seemed to gain some of this life back when the possibility of getting Ryoga back from the grips of death was possible. Mousse was glad for that much. He was going to need it in the coming days.

"Two days travel if we leave tomorrow. We have to bring Ryoga with us however."

"Fine. Who's coming?" Ranma asked looking around. "Well?"

Akane, as he expected, raised her hand. She really didn't understand what she was saying when she volunteered to help, but he knew Mousse understood when he volunteered as well. It was an unsettling feeling in his gut that Mousse knew more than he was letting on, but he shoved that to the back of his mind for another moment. Cologne came forward, or course, but he was surprised to see his father step forward and offer his service.

Would he be so willing, if he knew the actual truth of them?

"Hey!! Anyone home?!" A frantic voice called from outside. "Ran-chan?!"

Everyone turned to the open doorway to see Ukyo run in. She leaned against the door to catch her breath, noting the solemnity that had settled upon the household. "What's going on?" she asked. "What happened in here?? What was that weird light?!"

Ranma bowed his head and sighed deeply. "Something bad happened…"

"As if nothing bad ever happens. What? What happened?"

Ranma had no trouble in telling her what happened in the short time she was gone. He told her everything, his undertones giving way to the suspicions in her heart when she noted the broken tone of his voice when he mentioned Ryoga. Despite feeling it and confirming it in the heartache he openly displayed, she couldn't hold it against him. They had been a pair in and of themselves from the beginning, and it wasn't right for jealously to get in the way of that. By the time he was finished, Genma was holding Ukyo back. Her spatula had ingrained itself in the table, inches away from Shampoo.

Shampoo couldn't quite bring herself to move. The overwhelming thought of losing Ranma was making it very hard to do anything.

"I'm going too!" Ukyo exclaimed. "Ryoga didn't deserve this! You…don't deserve this, Ranma…"

They exchanged glances and Ranma nodded quietly as a way of apologizing to her. "I appreciate this…"

Ukyo nodded and turned her wrath upon Shampoo once more. "You! You should be shamed!" she spat. "Shampoo, this is a new low, even for you!"

"The least you could do is apologize." Mousse growled. "You haven't said one word ever since we got here."

"What good that do?" Shampoo sighed despairingly. "Ranma still hate me..."

"Shampoo....you had no right. You should have let things be."

"Shampoo sorry Okay? But that no change things...Ranma still hate me."

Ranma tiredly walked away from the situation rising in the room. He didn't leave right away though. Shampoo was wrong about that. "Shampoo….I don't hate anyone…" he said quietly. "I never hate anyone…but forgiving you…that's something I can't do right now."

Ranma turned and walked around the table and up the stairs, disappearing for the rest of the burdened night. Ukyo got up and left along with Dr. Tofu, Mousse, Cologne and a despairing Shampoo, only to return in the morning. Everyone else dispersed throughout the house to lock up and go to bed, leaving only the passing wind in the living room.

* * *

More soon! ^-^ All feedback welcomed, and all negative feedback will be destroyed without a response. :)


	7. Ignorance

AN:

Okay...it's been a hot minute. I know. I KNOW. I'm like...working on a bunch of stuff Ranma related, DBZ related, and thinking about delving into other fandoms that don't repulse the hell out of me. :)

So in case you forgot, this is SO AU its not even funny. It's been rewritten(again), and hopefully I can get further than I got before it was deleted the first go round thanks to my faulty laptop.

Please, please, PLEASE...if you like it, just say so. If you don't please no backwards comments that make my eye twitch. Yes, I TOLD YOU this is AU...and Yaoi. So yaoi that it makes pink straight.

There is Akane bashing, some Shampoo bashing...and definitely Happosai bashing.

Feel free to ask questions. :) And for the love of MIKE, do not come screaming at me about how Ranma is so powerful and blah blah blah. I know. Believe me, everything comes with a price...

Standard disclaimers and all that. I don't own anything or anyone aside people I made up, the plot, and me sticking them all in there to stew. :)

**

* * *

... In Ranma's room... **

Forgiveness…was there any room in his heart for it?

Ranma found himself wondering, kneeling next to the side of his beloved. Ryoga's once youthful form full of life and exuberance was now deathly pale wracked with shallow breaths and the soft grip to reality he'd been given. The sting of tears made Ranma blink and his body wanted nothing more than to slump forward and drown in this uncouth spiral it had been trapped in. Nothing—not even his father's cruel dealings—made him feel this disconnected to the world. He was being sucked into this black hole and on the other side was mercy in the form of death. He couldn't see his life without the lost boy lying before him. He didn't want to.

He bowed his head, hands gently drifting into the limp locks of Ryoga's head. He smoothed them back, wishing those brown eyes would open for him; would tell him that this was all a joke, and he could deal with it later. He wished those arms would rise and cling to him…hell, he wanted that fist to punch him just so that he would wake up from this nightmare.

Nothing happened. Nothing more than the wind blew from the window and left him staring at the ghostly form of Ryoga kneeling aside him.

"I'm still here, Ranma," Ryoga soothed. "You mourn me like I've died…"

"…because I couldn't protect you," Ranma admitted. "And this….this is scary, Ryoga. I don't know…what's happening to me…to us…"

The outburst only an hour ago left him confused, dazed, and wondering just what happened to allow things like this to occur. Information swam behind his eyes but it made no more sense than it did when he could swear that the voices were whispers. Now they were louder, and this thing that had erupted was near the surface of his heart waiting for him to unleash it. He didn't want to. He just wanted to go back to the way things used to be.

He felt the warmth of Ryoga's spirit flood through his fingers and into his soul. "We will figure it out," he whispered. "I know…I know you'll bring me back."

"I have to…" Ranma whispered. "If I don't….I just might kill someone."

It was a promise; a vow in his heart that he would take with him if the unthinkable happened. Everyone would pay, and he'd follow Ryoga into the afterlife without regret. Ryoga leaned in and kissed his cheek, fading away as Ranma fell forward and curled himself around Ryoga's physical body. A dreamless sleep awaited him with tears running down his cheeks.

* * *

Waking up to the cold was not Ranma's idea of a good morning. He shifted and moaned tiredly, rolling over to wrap himself around Ryoga and drift off to sleep once more. He had nothing to do today; no errands to run. He was entitled to sleep in for once, and he planned to do just that.

One arm raising itself to curl around the lost boy, he met air and grasped the empty sheets were Ryoga used to be. Ranma opened a sleepy eye to look about and spy him, but he saw nothing more than the surroundings of his room.

It hit him then, and he nearly vomited.

Last night…the dreams…the wings…Ryoga's cold breath on his fingers and cheeks…his pale skin…Shampoo…

Her face appearing in his mind sparked the worst in him, fists cracking the floor in his haste to get up. A loud growl nearly rattled the paper thin walls, and his loud heavy footsteps running for the lower part of the house was enough to wake the dead if he chose. Ryoga wasn't with him, and that within itself was a sin worthy of the most violent of deaths if something happened to him. Inside he was berating himself for falling asleep so deeply. He shouldn't have done that…not if someone had swiped Ryoga like that.

He slid into the room on one foot, the other ready to kick someone's face in. What he saw didn't calm him too much, but he relinquished his anger to his relief flooding him to the point where he was about to drop on his knees. Genma, idly eating breakfast, looked up and blinked.

"Do you want something to eat, boy?" he asked his son.

Ranma, looking over to the covered form of his love lying too still for his liking, shook his head and wandered back upstairs. His father must have taken him…to prep him for the long journey ahead of them. Ranma slowly wandered back up the stairs, knowing that he too needed to get ready.

Genma sighed, realizing just how close to death he'd come. Shampoo and Happposai were indeed in some serious trouble.

It took a little over an hour for everyone to gather in the house. Ukyo had stopped by as Ranma was packing, and Cologne, Mousse,, and Shampoo had wandered in when as he was strapping his things together. By the time he'd come downstairs and stayed, everyone was waiting for him, including Akane, to say something or do anything that would tell them of his mood.

There was no sure way to tell them how it felt to have a hole ripped into you.

Mousse moved quickly and quietly with Ranma, grabbing Ryoga and shifting him onto Ranma's back with ease. The presence and feel of Ryoga so close kept Ranma from dropping a little sooner, and gave him slight hope that it was not too late. He didn't understand any of this…

He kept himself from pressing his head into Ryoga's resting upon his shoulder and stared at Mousse adjusting his glasses. Those goofy things were transparent this morning, and for the life of Ranma, he didn't know why he noticed that today. Mousse said nothing…but he let his eyes say it all. There was a slight flash within them—an understanding—and Ranma felt a connection snap in place. He frowned, not knowing what it meant, but the voices speaking louder in his mind with this information said that Mousse wasn't a threat. No…he was here to help him…

But with what?

"You…you know what this is," Ranma said more than guessed. Mousse said nothing in kind. "What is this? Tell me! Please….I need to know!"

"Everything will be explained," Mousse said softly. "This much is owed to you…since you've been awakened prematurely in this age."

The male Amazon bowed his apologies and left to head for the door. Ranma followed, Ryoga strapped firmly to him and gripped tightly by his hands to keep anyone and everyone from taking him. They walked together outside the door, passing everyone and in silence telling them to follow. Ranma paused as he passed Shampoo…a light glare put the girl in a deeper despair than she had been wallowing in silently. Her hand reached up and he moved, growling deep in his throat.

She expected no less, but it hurt all the same and more.

* * *

Mousse had led them to the edge of Nerima and into the scattered woods that had surrounded them. They'd been in them long enough to know their way in and out of them, but the path Mousse led them on was headed further north than they had ever been. The worn path that feet had made through the years led them to a certain point, and then they had turned onto an off beaten path that hadn't been used in a very long time. Mousse stood aside then, letting Ranma take the lead.

Hiking through the woods with a party as big as theirs should have been noisy if not chaotic, but the woods were silent. There was nothing but the normal sounds of wildlife littered with the crunching leaves beneath their feet. Ranma lead them, a half step ahead at all times and pushing them to move faster the further north they went. He didn't know where he was going, but he knew somehow. He pushed until he could go no further, and then pushed himself a little more until they'd come to what should have been the mid-point of their trip.

They stopped in the clearing before them, wordlessly spreading themselves out to claim spots for their own. Mousse pitched his tent and Ranma's, not surprised when Ranma set Ryoga down within the confines of it. He didn't plop down like Mousse expected, but he did sit himself on a long looking much worse than he did when they left the house.

Genma, currently in his panda form thanks to a minor spill in a pond, sat at the entrance to Ranma's tent. His front left paw was stuffing his face, and the other paw was pinning down an irate little monster by the name of Happosai. Akane and Ukyo were nearby letting off some steam in the form of sparring. Shampoo had retreated into her tent and hadn't been seen in hours.

Cologne sat near the fire, eying it and Mousse from time to time. Mousse ignored her, more concerned about Ranma sitting there listlessly.

Ranma didn't move until the smell of food hit him, and he noticed that Mousse was sitting beside him. He shifted, moved forward, and yanked the Amazon male's shirt sleeve tightly.

"Mousse…what are you," he asked quietly, "And…what am I? What…what's happening to me?"

Mousse sighed quietly. He hated this part. "It's…complicated," he murmured, "But I will try to explain it. I am not of your kind. I am not someone born of the blue moon and it's magic. I am…a guardian of sorts."

"A guardian?"

"Yes. I am of a different clan. My clan is entrusted to protect the various clans of the moon. You are…perhaps one of the pieces of a huge puzzle that will end soon. These clans are parts of the Anything Goes Martial Arts...but ruled under the house of Chaos. The Blue Moon Clan is made of people who can absorb the chaos unto themselves. Everywhere they go, chaos ensues…until they find their destined."

Ranma stared at him incredulously. "W-what?"

"I told you it's complicated. Your clan is built for the everyday nonsense that seems to happen. You take in the chaos and thrive on it…becoming stronger until only abnormal things can challenge you. Celestial things. Beings like me…like Ryoga….like the old crone beside me."

Mousse avoided the swipe of Cologne's cane with ease. Ranma could only blink. Normally Mousse would be head first in the ground for such a comment, and Cologne never missed. Never. It only meant that Mousse was telling the truth…and had been lying all this time.

"You…you never…once…." Ranma growled, yanking Mousse's sleeve a little harder. Mousse didn't yank his arm back. He was too busy looking at the being behind Ranma's eyes surfacing and confusing the man more than ever. A premature awakening always left information incomplete, and it was not until they would union themselves would things start to make sense. "Not once…have you ever thought to declare yourself! You've never cared for me or for Ryoga! You've only sought to harm us! So WHY?"

Mousse carefully pried the grip Ranma had from his sleeve and took those trembling fingers into his own."….it wasn't my place to tell you," he said quietly. "Everyone who knows, vows never to reveal the destiny of someone belonging to the clans of the moon. A guardian can only prepare them….by being a constant factor in their already chaotic lives."

Ranma growled, sighed, and eventually relaxed himself. Mousse's hand was the only source of warmth he could feel aside the fire. "You are indeed…a sneaky son of a bitch," he sighed, much to Mousse and Cologne's amusement. "But…I think….I understand. So….why wear those?" he asked, pointing to the glasses upon his face.

"Guardians can't control the change like your clan can," Mousse explained. "We need to hide our eyes with reflective surfaces so humans can never see what should never be explained to simple minds. You have a shield…and impassive shield that makes you seem aloof and uncaring. Guardians are not that fortunate. Our gaze is meant to ward off those who should inquire, and threatened those who intend to harm."

"In other words, he'd kill someone if he looked at them directly," Cologne cackled softly. "Anyone who isn't of his blood would die. Most humans would faint before death could grip them though."

There was a small commotion and Mousse was up and over to where Genma Panda was swiping at Happosai cackling madly. The massive paws were primed and ready to take a chunk out of his little hide, but the little old man was just a bit faster with a bit more incentive that fueled his existence. Before he could scurry into the tent, Mousse appeared and snatched him up by the back of his gi.

"You little FOOL!" he spat. "Have you no awareness of what you face? Your curse will be voided upon judgment and you will DIE!"

Happosai didn't seem to hear him. His eyes rolled up in the back of his head and he went limp, much to Genma-Panda's relief. Mousse tossed the listless body at his paws. "Tie him up and do not let him out of your sight," he instructed. "I will deal with him when we turn in."

The Panda did as he was told without question. Mouse wandered back over to the fire, towards Ranma's grateful and questioning gaze and Cologne's laughter. He adjusted his glasses and sat back down with a loud annoyed sigh. "I'm going to be the one to kill him at this rate," he muttered.

"No one would mind," Cologne chuckled. "He is one of the most annoying things left to wander this plane in the last 300 years."

"You seemed to be well informed about all this," Ranma mused. "Are you like Mousse?"

"Heaven's no. I am one of the few who are born under an immortal eclipse," she exclaimed. "I can and will live until I decide that my time is over. From the look of it, and my idiot spawn," she murmured looking toward her great-granddaughter's tent, "My time here on this plane will not end anytime soon."

"And Happosai?"

"Ha! Don't make me laugh. He is a demon, a lecherous demon that lives off of the unbridled lust of the young and feeds off the energy of youth and beauty. It matters not who or what, but he gets his fill by uncouth means. He is judged every fifty years to see if he will be allowed to live another fifty. Last time he was sure to die…but unfortunately that girl stumbled upon a cure."

Somehow Akane's luck was strange, unfortunate, and somewhat scary.

"Had I known, I probably would have let him pass," Akane said as she approached the group. Ukyo was behind her, the huge spatula she carried hefted over her left shoulder even as she sat down near the fire. Cologne gently lifted the pot of stew off of the fire, the smell of it making mouths water. Dinner was ready and the time for talking had ceased for the moment.

The warm winds blew, and Ranma's fingers slipped from the bowl he'd been handed. The soft clatter of bowl and food meeting the ground didn't matter. Ranma stood, spine ablaze as the fires before them turned a strange blue. He waited tensely until he saw him appear. Ryoga was drifting over the fires and gazing at him as if Ranma were the only one here. He wasn't…he was all but too aware of that.

Mousse frowned deeply. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

"Ryoga…"

"_Ranma, you must listen to me,"_ Ryoga explained. _"Please…it's important!"_

"I'm listening," Ranma said. "I hear you…all of you."

"_Something is guarding me…I don't know what it is, but…it's dangerous. You will have to fight it…and defeat it…"_

"I'll do whatever it takes!"

"_**But you musn't die!"**_

Ranma could feel the fear laced within the words that flowed without lips moving. Whatever it was that was guarding Ryoga's spirit was very dangerous and would indeed kill him before he could get to the waters. Yet, he wasn't that eager to die for something that wanted to skin him alive. He'd fight until he couldn't move, and that within itself was a blessing and curse Ryoga feared more than anything.

He drifted forward, pulling Ranma's face gently into his transparent hands. "_Please_," he whispered. "_Just promise….promise me you'll live…"_

"I…can't promise that…" Ranma whispered thickly. The emotions were too great, swallowing him with every breath until he couldn't stand it anymore. "I won't…not without you…"

Ryoga's spirit pulled Ranma close to him meeting him halfway to wrap his ghostly arms around Ranma. In his ear he whispered his love, and something more._ "If you don't live…how can you live with me? I have faith in you…"_

"Ryoga…no….please don't—"

He didn't have a choice. Ryoga faded from his sight, his arms, and his heart. He nearly toppled over from the desolation gripping him tighter than ever, and would have landed near the fires had Mousse not caught him. Mousse helped him to sit where he'd been before, offering nothing more than his hand and the promise that they would do all that they could to save Ryoga.

Akane looked on, confused as to why Ranma sat there with his eyes closed. Cologne was the one to answer her unspoken question with a chill cracking her spine loudly.

"He would kill everyone here," she said. "The world around him would die…and no one would remember. Such is the tragedy of losing something precious."

"….I didn't know…they were such close friends…" she mused softly.

Cologne eyed the naïve girl. If only that was just the truth of the matter.

* * *

Yeah, I pulled the ANYTHING GOES MARTIAL ARTS into it. It'll make sense later. :) Next chapter...Hoooooo!


	8. Celestial Lights

Standard disclaimers and all that. I don't own anything or anyone aside people I made up, the plot, and me sticking them all in there to stew. :)

OMG there is a LEMON in here! RUN! RUN! READ! RUN! :) No flames.

* * *

**... The next afternoon... **

He could feel the burn in his knees and the ache in his legs and thighs quivering from the effort of trudging uphill for a good hour or so. Ranma paused for a second. His breath was harsh and unforgiving, tired and unable to give him the proper air his body was craving. He closed his eyes and for a second he thought about laying down on the ground and just sleeping it all away, but the soft press of Mousse's hand into his shoulder and the concerned look of Cologne made him take another step…and another…

Ukyo could see him fading with every step he took. She didn't know where the energy was coming from, but somehow Ranma kept going. She knew he was determined, hardheaded at times and cocky with the best of them, but this was something else. This wasn't Ranma charging off to save the day. This wasn't Ranma getting trapped in the middle of something and having to fight his way out of it.

As he took another step and stumbled, only to get up, Ukyo felt her heart squeezing itself tightly. It was as if the world was floating away from her feet piece by piece and she was waiting to fall and snap her neck. It shouldn't have hit her as hard as it did, but it was enough to make her miss the root that appeared and tripped her up.

She fell face first in the dirt and thought about staying there. Genma, still in his Panda form, gently eased her up with his paws and set her right again. She absently dusted the dirt off of her legs and clothes, purposely ignoring the sting of her eyes not from falling.

Akane trotted back and gave her a once over. "Are you okay?"

"I…I'm fine," Ukyo lied. "Come on, we can't stop now…"

"Actually, yes we can," Mousse said. He wasn't that far up ahead, but he had stopped walking. Cologne had hopped forward a little ways and nodded at him. He was right, which was a relief. "Okay…we're here."

"Where is here?" Akane asked. "We're in the middle of nowhere!"

"Where we need to be…where we have to wait," Mousse answered. "You'll see when the sun sets. Until then, rest up. This will be no ordinary battle."

_**Yeah.**_ Ranma thought bitterly. _**No battle is ever ordinary when it comes to me**_.

* * *

An hour had washed over them when the startled sounds of Ranma broke their silence. The flickering rays of the sun setting in the west gave way to the night coming to life and the glimmer of something awakening quietly. The soft chirping of birds died and the light hooting of owls echoed from tree to tree. The evenings rustle of the winds playing their nightly games rushed by them with the soft scent of evening laced in the honeysuckle that surrounded them. Whatever peace was meant to be displayed here was met with anxiety, hope, and apprehension within the group waiting for something to appear.

Ranma and Mousse kept their eyes to the skies. They were waiting for something as the others looked about in hopes of seeing a building of sorts. There was nothing but the open air, the forest, and them breathing within it.

"There's still nothing here," Ukyo sighed. "Are you sure we're in the right place?"

"It's because you can't see it," Mousse answered. "I've yet to grant you to the sight to see something sacred like it."

"Will you grant it to them, guardian?" Cologne pondered. "You know what will happen…if you decide to."

Mousse shook his head at her and what was sure to come of his decision. "I don't have a choice. The battle is his, but must bear a witness of human blood. Two will ensure his decision, and the judged ones have no say." He turned to Genma Panda holding an unconscious Happosai in his grip. "Do not lose him, lest you desire your paws willingly cut off to serve as coasters."

Genma Panda nodded solemnly.

Ranma stood up as Ryoga was snatched from him by the winds. The voices that called were full of sorrow and warning, telling him to come and find what he'd been searching for as they took Ryoga away. Everyone leapt to their feet prepared to chase after the body that had been taken so abruptly, but Mousse kept them at bay with a hand raised and his glasses cracking under the pressure of his form coming to the surface.

"Ranma…do now!" Mousse exclaimed.

Ranma couldn't hold it back anymore. He screamed once, letting the form that appeared only a day ago take hold, wings like the night wrapping themselves around his shivering frame before stretching themselves out. Eyes that were once desolate revived, looking to the beginnings of a labyrinth that appeared within the rolling mists flowing out of the trees. The warmth of the blue aura around it sung of tranquility, but within the center of it was a roar of chaos screaming at its loudest, unable to find rest in a sea of unbalance that had befallen it.

A mark pierced Ranma's brow, a sign old and forgotten and written in a language dead to all. He touched his brow once, allowing all that he'd been whispered to come to the surface of his mind. The image before them became real, and the maze solidified from the story it had been pulled from.

Mousse stepped forth, his own markings appearing upon his brow in the shape of the moon. His clothing reshaped itself into an elegant fighting garb from times long forgotten by the human mind. Bare arms that were usually clothed in sleeves flexed themselves, the left hand holding a chain and the right holding the scythe connected. Wings that were blacker than the night erupted from his back in a gust of wind that threatened to knock them down.

Eyes that were reflections of twilight upon violet skies gazed at them, and back at Ranma looking at the entrance inviting them in.

Ranma glanced Mousse's way once. "Like I said...you are a sneaky son of a—"

"Save it for later Ranma," Mousse said cutting him off. "I must grant them access."

"…if you must. Come, Ryoga is waiting."

"Yes, my lord."

Plum eyes belonging to Shampoo widened when Mousse turned around. She'd never seen him like this. Not once had she a clue that this creature standing before her could be the same clumsy Amazon who once proclaimed his love for her and her alone who harbored that duck curse that got him in more hot water than she could account for. His eyes fell on her, and what she once thought was adoration was nothing more than condemnation, scorn, and a pity that shouldn't fall on the most desolate of shoulders.

Shampoo hugged herself, unable to keep from shivering. "Shampoo no remember Mousse like this," she murmured. "Shampoo no like…"

"I don't care what you like right now," Mousse snapped. "We wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for your impulsiveness."

"….I…"

"Don't waste your breath apologizing to me." He turned away from her and looked to the others, torn or silent about what they'd seen or heard. "Akane, Ukyo….I will grant you access into this realm for this night alone to bear witness. Will you accept?"

Both girls nodded. "We accept."

"Then so be it."

Solemnity that was upon Mousse's face left with a single sardonic grin splitting his lips to unveil the laughter bubbling from his throat. They didn't have time to question it. Ukyo yelped as her arm throbbed and a mark appeared on her shoulder, burning itself into her skin and marking her as one of Mousse's own. Akane looked on curiously, until the pain of it took her. She screamed a little louder than necessary, cradling her wrist as a mark appeared and branded her.

Mousse was quite alarmed, but he didn't show it. His markings were supposed to be upon the shoulder or upper arm. A marking upon the wrist was a sign that was troubling, but one he had to ignore for the moment.

"Are you ready?" he asked them. "Once you're in, you can't come back without me."

"What about Mr. Saotome, Cologne, Shampoo, and Happosai?" Ukyo asked absently rubbing her arm. "Why haven't they been marked?"

"Oh, but we have," Cologne cackled. "I am of a moon that bears no effect or gains effect from other lands not of my own. Mr. Saotome is under my protection. As for Happosai and Shampoo…they bear the marks of judgment upon their necks."

Sure enough there was a black mark upon Shampoo's neck. She clapped her hand over it in shame, but it was still visible and growing with every passing moment. Happosai's neck was already black…and his right hand was getting darker.

Ranma moved before anyone could comment on the condemning marks or their origins swirling in the depths of his palms. He would kill them if it came to it. There was no other way. He led them into the vine covered entryway, stepping onto the moonlit grass that started upon the path that would take him into the center. He knew the way. It was designed that no human could ever find the center. Only his kind could, and even then they couldn't come into the center without proving themselves. He could hear them admiring the beauty and age of this place, and Ranma could keep a tired sigh to himself. It wasn't meant for their eyes. Not like this. In a dream in passing, perhaps…but not to remember.

Ranma shifted his wings once and left them. Mousse called for them to follow quickly, taking off at a pace that was faster than they were used to. Even being marked as they had, Akane and Ukyo were surprised to see themselves falling behind Genma Panda of all people. The path they ran was twisted and confusing, and they surely could not find their way out if they decided to go back. They had no choice but to keep up, the eroded walls covered in strange ivy passing their eyes like wind and the steps they took as baffling as this entire situation.

"They move too fast," Shampoo panted.

"This is our realm," Cologne called back. "It should not surprise you. Now hurry! They are within the center garden by now!"

Cologne rounded another corner with Genma Panda and a stirring Happosai. He lifted his head as they finally came to a stop, and the girls caught up with their breath collecting as one. Ranma and Mousse stood before them with their backs turned, facing what was the center of dreams and imagination.

There were bushes surrounding the circular pattern of the garden, each bearing the same strange fruit that had been the cause of this journey. But the smell was different. What had been a sweet smell reminding them of a sweet apple with a bitter tartness was a succulent scent that could make anyone's mouth water. Mousse absently wiped his mouth. Such treats he could partake of later when this business was done.

The walls surrounding them were old and faded with time, broken in some places and bearing that strange ivy that they'd seen at the start of this. They were the color of the moon and earth mingling as one, shimmering under a bright blue moon staring down at them from the peak of the skies. Stars shone brighter within its presence, winking in and out as the winds threw up the leaves that had fallen upon the cement ground they stood upon. The scent of running water was heavy in the air, and was heard as something appeared in the middle of the garden.

A fountain appeared, the clear running waters falling from the hands of a goddess that had no name. Her serene face was leaning against the moonlight, offering the skies the clear waters that flowed freely and fell away in four rivers that fell to pool in the basin below her. The basin was topped with playful sprites of marble, each pouring the waters of the goddess into a pool below them with buckets in their small hands. The water that fell from them was enchanted, glistening with a life of its own. It was this water that they needed…but everything came with a price.

Happosai didn't have time to look upon the scenery. He let out a strangled cry as the mark took hold of him and left him writhing. Shampoo fell to her knees clutching her throat. It was suddenly too hard to breath, and whatever air she was getting had cut itself off by half. Akane and Ukyo knelt down to help her, but Cologne stopped them with her staff.

"Leave her," she said. "She's written her own fate. She will either die for her crimes or be forgiven."

"You can't just leave her like that!" Akane cried.

"It's not up to me, child. Ranma bestowed the marks….he will be the one to remove them."

Akane couldn't believe what she was hearing. Ranma? Him? She stood up to cry for him to stop this, but the words died in her throat when she saw the palms of his hands as black as the marks upon Happosai and Shampoo. He didn't have to look at Akane for her to know. It was all in his shoulders…and in the condemning eyes of Mousse looking back at them. Ranma would not relent. Not until judgment had passed.

A warm wind came again, and it bought the spirit of Ryoga. His body was nowhere to be found, held captive until Ranma could prove himself worthy. His spirit smiled once, and then it was as still as the goddess.

"He will not appear until you settle what has been unbalanced here," Mousse explained to him. "You must do this before midnight's twilight. Do you understand?"

"….I don't have much time…"

"No, you don't. End this quickly."

"…do you—"

"No. I don't know what is going to happen….but something is wrong. VERY WRONG."

The roar of unbalance came again, rumbling the ground beneath them and ringing their ears. The deep and loud vibrations put them off balance. Ranma shook his head as what looked like stardust fell before them. Mousse shivered and stepped back as the dust collected into a ball, shaping itself into a familiar shape he'd not lain eyes upon in many moons. A softer roar came as it opened its mouth and unveiled itself as a constellation: Leo. The grand lion that pranced about in the stars was here amongst them, a proud figure of stardust and cosmic flares for a mane and bright novas for its eyes. Its body was made up of galaxies, its proud paws reborn suns and its lashing tail a comet near the edge of the universe.

It stared at them, and then roared loudly; the song of a thousand places burrowing itself into their minds and hearts. This battle was for him and Ranma. No one would interfere lest they desired death that much quicker. The Reaper of souls hid within the shadows of the garden; waiting for the call should it be heard.

"Stay here," Ranma instructed. "Do not interfere. If you do…you will be marked."

"Of course, that doesn't apply to me," Mousse said quietly enough only for Ranma to hear. Ranma flicked his gaze at him once. "I will aide you if I must. Have no doubt in that."

"Ranma, be careful!" Ukyo called. "Please! Don't make this for nothing!"

Akane didn't know what to say, so she decided not to say anything.

The soft twitter of the nightingale's song screaming through the deafening silence was their signal to begin. Ranma's wings beat against the air and launched him high, the winds causing the others to shield their faces from the backlash. Leo leapt up without effort, climbing higher until he was at Ranma's height with his massive paw swiping faster than anyone could have anticipated. Ranma flapped his massive wings to push himself out of that reach, climbing higher into the skies and flipping once to dive down and smash his fist into the center of Leo's snarling face.

Their eyes locked with one another, the chaos of the moment heating their blood. Leo's paw swiped Ranma away, slamming him into one of the eroding walls with a sickening cry. Leo leapt into the crumbled mess that was left only to grunt as Ranma flew at him, slamming his fists into its stomach. The heavenly bodies swarming within the lion shook madly, shifting to an odd red as he clawed at the winged creature fighting for something few had achieved. His claws took a glimmer of hair and nothing more, feathers dancing strangely as Ranma twisted himself to fly above him again and slam him into the floor.

Leo howled loudly, anger swarming from the depths of his core and amplifying itself into Ranma's ears. Ranma screamed. He flew away from the noise and held his ears, feeling the blood pour through his fingers and tumble down his wrists. Leo tackled him then, pinning him to the ground with his massive paws upon his shoulders. The mark upon Ranma's head was staring to glow, but Leo paid it no mind. He roared again, killing what screams could be ripped from Ranma with his own cries of pain and torture; the sorrow of eons wallowing without a voice and the chaos of life tipping into the depths of evil that roamed this earth.

Ranma shook his head, swearing he'd go mad if he listened to this another second. "STOP! PLEASE! STOP!"

"Why! No one stopped for us!" Leo spat. "No one stopped when they killed us…when the chaos came and there was no one to balance it, no one came…so why would they stop now!"

Riddles. All of it. Ranma screamed, the mark on his brow illuminating the gardens for a moment.

It was all Mousse needed to see to move like the winds beneath him and slam himself into that Lion. He and Leo rolled in a strange collage of wings and stars, colliding into the wall and separating to land at a distance from one another. The weapon in Mousse's hands came to life, the chain wrapped in his left hand and the scythe in his right swinging freely in circles from the chain attached to its end.

Leo dug its paws into the concrete. "Why do you interfere, guardian?" it spat. "This is not your fight!"

"Like hell," Mousse spat. "It became mine when chaos became greater than the mighty Leo. Now…come meet your death or yield!"

"Ah…death first….so like a guardian."

Mousse stepped on the linking chain of his weapon and let his scythe do the talking. Leo leapt out of the way of the sharp blade, well aware that it could shatter any beast of the stars with just a scratch. Mousse yanked it back and flew to meet Leo head on, pulling back at the last moment to allow a very angry Ranma to slam his fists into Leo's massive head.

From the other side of the garden, Akane managed to peel her hands off of her ears. She checked them for blood, glad when she couldn't see any evidence of her ears almost popping from that noise. "What in the hell was that sound?" she questioned.

Ukyo shook her head. She didn't know, but she didn't want to hear it again, ever. She didn't think tears could run that freely down her face in a fit that rocked her soul and sent her down the deepest spiral of despair without a way out. She could see that Shampoo had been reduced to a crying fit gasping in deep gulps of air, and Happosai had almost passed out from the pain of it. He sat weakened at Genma Panda's feet, clutching his heart and his neck.

Genma Panda didn't seem to be affected, nor Cologne. She looked at the girls and then at her great-granddaughter slowly turning a sickly shade of blue. "Well…what you heard is power in its raw form," she said. "Chaos…without peace. Armageddon…if you must."

"What?"

"…is…is that what that was?" Ukyo whispered. "Oh god…what the hell is this?"

"The depths of the Anything Goes Martial Arts at the core," Cologne said ominously. "It is a battle of heaven and hell fighting its common enemy of chaos. When a beast of the celestial stars is infected…the outcome is not pretty…"

The sound of that roar rocked them again, and this time Cologne did wince. She looked up sharply and gasped at the sight before her, her hands flying to her mouth before her own cries could come.

Mousse remained where he was, his left hand gripping the chain that had latched itself and wrapped around Leo's neck to pull it closer. Leo held its ground, screaming angrily at them and pulling at Mousse. Mousse didn't budge. He gently tugged at the blade that had sheathed itself into Leo's hide, stars dying as the blade was called back to Mousse's hands.

Leo screamed in outrage, the final burst of power from its core shattering the air and bringing the best of them to his knees. Mousse cried out and lost his grip, holding his head as Leo leapt at him.

Ranma pushed himself off of the ground and flew between them, grabbing the Lion by the galaxies within its mane and crushing his knees into his jaw. He somehow managed to twist himself and Leo to the right, knowing that the weight of the lion would crush them as they fell, but Mousse was once again surprising him, tucking into Leo's core with his foot and launching him clear across the gardens to land in a heap unmoving.

Mousse landed with a curse, wiping his lip of the blood sitting there. "Damn it…."

Ranma landed beside him, exhausted but unwilling to kneel until he was sure the deed was done. "Is he dead?"

"The hell if know," Mousse muttered. "I mean, I stabbed him…but that's not enough to kill a beast like Leo."

"No…but it is enough to begin healing me," they heard the still lion rumble. Leo, acting as if nothing had occurred, stood with a mighty shake of his head. The back of his left leg was black with darkness, a sure sign of what would have happened if this battle was allowed to go further than it had. The skies would have been without him, and he would have been reborn as stardust. He sighed lightly and settled himself down, snorting quietly as the red faded from his body and became a tranquil blue.

"Leo…?"

"The new moon is moving," Leo rumbled tiredly. "I needed to be sure…but thanks to you, guardian…I may have another day to fight."

Mousse cursed a lot louder and buried his weapon into the ground angrily. "No! Why now?"

"Who knows? But…I accept my defeat. Save your destined," he said softly to a very confused and tired Ranma. "Save him…and take your place in the school you were born within."

Ranma nodded. He would deal with this later.

He flapped his wings free of the dirt and blood, leaping over to the fountain where Ryoga hung within his flesh. He was no longer a spirit, but that was fading. Ranma could feel it. He held out his arms to catch his unbound lover, cradling him near the water's edge when he knelt down to the waters still glimmering as if there wasn't bloodshed surrounding them. He slid his fingers under the bandana, revealing Ryoga's fading mark. It was faint…but the fact that it was there was reassuring.

"Ranma...it's almost midnight's twilight!" Mousse screamed. "Hurry up!"

There was no time to waste. Ranma looked to the waters, searching its strange glow for the dagger he needed. A strange glimmer made him blink, and then it was sitting in the air above his palm, the blade of silver slicing his palm open. The blood pooled within his palm but did not spill. He placed his lips to his palm and sipped until the blood was gone, holding it between his lips as he dipped his bleeding hand into the waters and scooped up a bit of it.

The precious drops of water were placed to Ryoga's lips, seeping into his blue tinted mouth. Once the water was gone, he pressed his lips to Ryoga's, tongue parting his lips to let his blood seep into his mouth and down his throat. His blood running with the waters of the goddess would revive him…if Ranma was in time. He didn't dare think otherwise, pressing all he had into that solitary kiss. He wanted so very badly to wake up if this was a dream, or die if this wasn't….and Ryoga wasn't here…

Ukyo felt the very last piece of her break. She covered her eyes and sobbed like never before.

Akane could only look on with a slight disgust bubbling in the pit of her gut. She didn't know he had to go through such lengths…

Mousse watched the two girls from where he stood, his concern for Akane growing more and more.

It felt like forever had come and gone when Ryoga's sharp inhale of air made them breathe. Ranma pulled away to stare into vivid pools of brown staring into his eyes only to yelp lightly as those strong arms pulled him back down to hug him tightly. Relief like never before swallowed him, and he revealed in it. He dropped his head against Ryoga's, allowing the tears that had been waiting to fall against the flushed skin of his lover grinning like a fanged mad man in his arms.

It had been close…much too close.

The marks in his hand released themselves and those who were to be judged. Shampoo sat up with a gasp, breathing properly for the first time in minutes. Happosai finally passed out properly, too tired to really say anything. Akane stared at them, grateful that no one died, but alarmed when the marks they bore did not vanish. They simply shrank and remained small markings that could easily be confused for blemishes. She began to ask, but Cologne hushed her.

"Judgment has been delayed," the old woman said. "An act of mercy."

Akane didn't question it. She turned back towards Ranma and Ryoga hugging the life out of each other, glad for them until Ryoga pulled back enough to kiss Ranma gently on his brow. Ranma folded into his embrace, stifling his sobs some but not much. Ryoga's hands cupped the face that had once been a boyish nuisance and now bore the marks of a grown man coming into his own. Thumbs gently brushed away what tears remained, a loving sound vibrating from his chest as he put his head under Ranma's and eased him back into some sense of himself.

"Ranma….it's okay…."

"It's NOT okay!" Ranma cried softly. "I almost lost you! Ryoga…why didn't you let me—?"

"An act of mercy, until you come to your full senses," Ryoga chuckled quietly. "I know…I know you would see blood for mine, but no. What is the purpose?"

"Because you are mine….Mine in all ways," Ranma whispered. "Mine now…mine forever…mine in death and ever more."

Ryoga looked at him strangely, smiling tiredly as Ranma smiled against him. "All this…and this is what it takes for you to propose?"

Ranma let out a loud bark of laughter, hugging his lover close. The urge to claim what was his was stronger than ever, and soon his hands were slipping down Ryoga's body, evaporating the clothing that kept his fingers from the warm supple skin wrapped around a firm body pressing heatedly into his own. Though he bore many bruises and cuts from his fight with Leo, Ryoga still leaned into him as if it were another night belonging to them alone. He pushed him down, a bed of feathers cushioning the bare body beneath Ranma and presenting him with an offering only Ryoga could provide without getting killed for it.

Ranma pressed his fingers to Ryoga's chest, the finger tips radiating from the strong beat of the heart beneath them. Whatever barriers were left between them fell and left Ranma to claim what his was from birth.

Mousse watched them, gladness in his heart and instinct driving him to seal them away from the sight of the humans looking on in slight disbelief. It was enough that they had glimpsed this place and heard a piece of the secrets of their chosen art form, but for them to see an act of claiming? No. That was enough. He waved his hand and cast a shield over Ranma and Ryoga. No one aside himself, Cologne, and Leo could see the truth. The humans were left with the missing image of the fountain and their loved ones.

Shampoo had seen more than her eyes could take and bowed her head in shame. Her hand still clutched the mark upon her neck, warning her of days to come. Ukyo was too busy sobbing to see anything progress. Mousse had to hand it to the child. She was true to her heart and thought what she'd seen had broken it, she wasn't lying to herself. Akane on the other hand was tossed between reliefs and screwing up her face in suspicion and disgust. Cologne couldn't care less about it, though a worried Mousse did leave Leo's side to jar her out of it.

"Is something the matter?" he asked quietly.

Akane shrugged lightly. "I…I suppose not," she muttered. "I didn't….I didn't think—"

She'd seen Ranma place his hand over Ryoga's heart in a loving gesture. That was more than Mousse wanted her to see, but she'd seen it nonetheless. He cleared his throat and met her eyes with his own, warning her silently not to take it any further.

"Shampoo didn't think," he said lightly. The girl flinched and backed away from him. "It's nothing you need concern yourself with. A bond is formed…and is being sealed. A sad or jealous heart will not help you here."

Shampoo and Ukyo knew that the Ranma they were drawn to was no longer theirs to claim. Akane seemed to believe otherwise, or was confused. Mousse turned to the mark upon Akane's wrist and pondered it.

Something was still wrong…and this girl was in the middle of it somehow.

* * *

It was the same touches…the same whispers…the same heated breaths against his face, but there was something different about this. Ryoga pulled his lips from Ranma's moaning against him as those fingers curled and pressed against a spot deep within him. Ryoga thrust his hips up, legs open and wide to invite the throbbing shaft pressed against his hip and leaking. Ranma merely kissed his neck, taking his sweet time in drawing out Ryoga's pleasure until he was a whimpering writhing mess begging for him to end it.

Ranma slowly slid his fingers free, hands grasping Ryoga's hips from beneath and holding him open. A soft rumble came from Ranma's chest, vibrating into Ryoga's as the slow burn of their joining sent him into their own nirvana. Ryoga could feel Ranma sliding deeper until he was nestled comfortably in his warmth, groins pressed hotly against one another and wings gently caressing his arms curled around Ranma's shoulders.

Ranma pressed his lips lightly to Ryoga's breathing out the single word, "Mine."

Ryoga groaned deeply, his hips lifted unto Ranma's as he braced himself on his knees, hands pulling at slender firm hips quivering against his every thrust. He couldn't keep himself from his instincts, roughly claiming the tight channel and pressing his fingers into the smooth flesh, bruising it and ravishing it with biting kisses, searing licks, and teasing wisps of breath as he found no desire to breathe without a piece of Ryoga against his lips. He was surprised when Ryoga quivered and gave back as good as he got, biting his lip to the point of bleeding and sucking on it as if it were the last life line within this world.

They dug at each other, a battle that they could see between them merging to bring them together in the most intimate of ways. The love, the hate, the sorrow, the bitter sweet moments of being untrue to their feelings to mingle with the reality that was given to them; all of it ruptured and left them a sweaty mess that pulled and grabbed at one another as if the other would vanish if they let go. It had almost happened…and Ranma needed more than ever to know that this wasn't some sick dream he would wake from and find himself doing it all over again. He would…and he'd kill someone this time…just to get back to this moment, this sweet moment were Ryoga grinded his hips into his own, taking him deeper than he'd ever been.

Ryoga was calling to him…submitting…telling him that it was okay…to finally let go…

Mousse looked to the skies, the worry in his heart lifting as he heard the song of soul mates drift from the goddess's lips. It was about time. She sung differently with every joining, every song meant for the lovers below her and known only to them. Yet, there was one song…one song he hadn't heard in a very long time that was like no other. For that song to drift into his heart and make him forget, for that melody to comfort Leo into sleeping within the sights of humans…it meant that they were truly meant to be.

Ranma's wings spread themselves, bathed in the light of the moon and its goddess. He stopped moving, the sheer force of his heart doing what his body would inevitably have done. Ryoga squeezed Ranma's shoulders, pressed back into the feather's cushioning him as he felt the molten heat of his orgasm shoot through him abruptly. Ranma watched as the pearlescent white marked him, a low groan ripped from him as his own ache relieved itself in spine numbing shocks that left him weak and boneless.

For those short moments, they were in the heavens….just them…and their unspoken vows to one another.

Mousse chuckled a bit as Ranma all but collapsed upon his giggling lover, more than tired from his ordeal. He had every right to be. Not many people survived that…and lived long enough to mate with someone meant for them. As Ryoga cradled him and caressed the wings that eventually soothed them to sleep, Mousse was tasked with the job of getting everyone home.

That was easier said than done.

Mousse looked to the east where he could feel him coming. "Ronin….hurry the hell up," he sighed.

* * *

Now...who the hell is Ronin? Welp...ya gotta wait. ;) More soon...and a deeper explanation about things. :)

NO NO NO FLAMES! ^-^


	9. Blood Reigns

**AN:**

Standard Disclaimers...and no there be not a lemon in here...Arrrrr! ;)

* * *

Time tends to fly when one is too busy wallowing in the vat of their own sorry with violins playing only for thee. Shampoo was such a person, bitterly chewing on her mind inwardly as the outward bubblehead grinned and served the customers laughing, talking, and eating all around her. It wasn't hard for someone like herself to split her mind to two tasks when she was upset. She did it quite often, which was why she was dangerous as an opponent. Anyone in her village could attest to that, though now she pondered if she would ever see the horizon of her village ever again.

Cologne watched her great-granddaughter again as she faded inwardly, her mind on the small black mark that had yet to leave her fair skin in a little over a month. Not once had Ranma shown himself to voice the call of judgment, not that she expected him to so soon after claiming his mate for himself. What she'd voiced openly had been only a pondering that was completely wrong in the end. Those two were true and real; rare to see in a life so long and young as her own. She had many moons to witness another miracle, but this was perhaps the one that would see change to this strange world.

The bell upon the door jingled, and Shampoo caught herself as she nearly leapt from fright and the urge to fight. Cologne sighed inwardly at the child. She hadn't forgotten about the bout that Shampoo and Ranma were supposed to have in order to gain the Phoenix Pill for Ryoga. Although now, Cologne seriously doubted that such a thing was needed. Most effects, pressure points, spells, and physical abnormalities were void after coming so close to death. Ranma seemed to have, which was just as well. As long as the boy did not visit, Cologne didn't need to worry about blackening skies, Shampoo screaming to death, and an angry deity destroying her restaurant in an attempt to seek retribution. No. She was quite happy with her kin becoming a virtual basket case. At least Shampoo was alive enough to know and appreciate that she was making herself nuts.

Cologne paid no more mind to her great-granddaughter and the beginnings of her soft ramblings in their language. She served up another set of beef-bowls and set to making the several other orders sitting in front of her.

Across the room watching the two was Mousse, sitting back with his arms folded within the sleeves of his robes. From the moment he'd gotten back he'd plainly refused to be put to work again, opting to spend his time thinking to himself. Shampoo had made the fatal mistake of questioning him, and that was the last time she'd talked to him without Mousse initiating a conversation. That falling out had caused half the block to lose power, and Shampoo had kindly shut up and accepted her place in life: at the bottom. Mousse still ran errands for Cologne and such when she needed them and helped out when he saw fit to, but it wasn't that often and Cologne didn't object. They had an understanding and Mousse acting as he had all this time was a clue to just how deep they were about to get into this. Mousse would do as he pleased, and do as he needed.

At the moment, his mind was on the arrival of the New Moon Clan.

The art of Chaos was an art form that knew no boundaries. All things derived from Chaos, and from that unstable entity rose an infinity of things, all of which aided man in the fight to rise from the damage chaos caused intentionally and unintentionally. This was where the School of Anything Goes originated, a form that saw no discipline but one: survival by any means. The Clans of the Moon were all different and well versed in the school, each claiming an ability that trumped others. Everyone had their specialty, but those of the New Moon were never clear in their actions. No clan, no guardian seemed to know of their intentions until an incident between the two masters of each clan occurred…and set the balance of chaos way off.

More and more spots of diluted silence were coming up after waves of untold destruction. It was the way these people moved, and it was rather disconcerting at how quickly they were. They were going to have to take out these people quickly…and that girl…that Akane Tendo…

Her mark had not faded.

Marks given in temporary situations to allow passage did two things. They allowed them safety from being pulled and killed for their trespassing, and it unveiled their inner intent and if the one marked was of another clan unknowingly or willingly. Ukyo's had vanished from sight upon the next day, though her sadness had continued well into the month that had passed them by. Akane's mark, which had been placed in the wrong spot to begin with, had not. It was still there on her arm which meant something he really didn't want to think about….

If it was true…if she didn't know…

The warm wind shifting in his direction from the outside told him several things, and welcomed the arrival of someone he'd been waiting for. He'd felt them coming for a long time, and now marked the arrival of his full presence. The bell upon the door jingled and in walked a stranger masked within a long richly dark blue cloak that masked most of him from the view of normal sight.

All one could see was the scrape of his jaw. That was familiar to anyone who'd been around Nerima long enough to know of its residents. Mousse could see the semblance, scooting out of his unmanned booth to effortlessly flow through the tables to get to the man looking about curiously. Bright blue eyes scanned the area wearily behind a set of glasses; the strong fingers of his well worn hand rubbing the bottom of his scruffy chin lightly in thought. Mousse could see that he was looking for it…he was looking for the mark upon Shampoo.

He finally pulled back his hood and the loud yell of someone made him look up and step out of the way of one well placed Bonbari.

"Ookay…that's one hell of a greeting," the stranger murmured looking down at purple hair clouding the unreadable face of Shampoo. She paused once, but screamed again as she swung at him, forcing him backward with practiced ease. The stranger didn't look interested at all. "Um…are you fucking insane?"

"Shampoo know that Ranma, so stop!" Shampoo sneered. "You come to take me, finally? You make Shampoo wait for death and it no come until now? No…Shampoo will make Ranma pay!"

"Shampoo, that is NOT—"

She swung the weapon in Mousse direction. /Shut up Mousse!/ she spat in mandarin. /For all I know this is one of your sick tricks to get back at me! I do not mind a quick death, but to delay me mine and kill me a month afterward? That is a dishonor I will not yield to! I will not die without a fight! You will not take me so easily!/

The stranger looked between Shampoo and Mousse. Mousse was working his jaw fixedly. Shampoo was not backing down. While this was amusing, the name she mentioned made him curious as to how well they knew Ranma. "So…anyone know where I can find Ranma?" he asked lightly.

Shampoo swung her bonbari at him again and it was cut in half for her efforts. She stared at it in disbelief and then at the sword in the man's hands that hadn't been there before.

He smiled lightly. "Let's try this again. Where…is…Ranma?"

"This not funny Ranma!" Shampoo spat. "If come to kill, then you will fight!"

Mousse was too preoccupied with honing in on two other signals to warn Shampoo of her plight. It was just as well. The stranger stopped smiling and quickly went on the offensive, missing her by centimeters and slicing the table she leapt over backwards in half. The patrons of the Nekohanten, used to the daily non-sense that usually occurred, quickly decided that they were not staying for the outcome of this. Everyone ran out of the entrance, avoiding the fighting duo and that gleaming sword bent on slicing Shampoo in half.

She dodged him again, ducking under a lucky swipe and shoving herself within his personal space to backhand him with her fist. She barely grazed skin, realizing a little too late that he'd moved and shoved her backwards hard enough for her to fly carelessly through the open space of the counter into the kitchen. Cologne hopped out of the way, eyes widening when the girl grabbed the hose lying nearby.

The stranger was expecting her to either stay down or come back at him with a vengeance, but he was not expecting the cold splash of water to smack him in the face.

The change happened so quickly that it was unnoticeable to anyone who didn't know what was going on. Mousse sensed it and stepped back on instinct alone. Blue eyes glared as they were overcome with the gold of the demon lurking within his blood now. Shampoo waited…and found herself waiting for nothing. Not once did the girl she expected to see appear.

"Why no change?" she questioned in disbelief.

"Because I am…NOT…RANMA!"

His cloak opened abruptly, allowing them to see the batlike appendages for wings he harbored behind a well toned body worn with experience and muscle. He was much broader than the young man in question, and a bit taller. His pointed ears seemed to redden as he clenched his fists and cracked his knuckles, the sword in his right hand shifting into a Katana Mousse was quite familiar with.

The fires were forming around him before anyone could say anything. Shampoo could barely scream as the fires tore through her body, flesh searing from the white hot pain of his unseen attack and the mark upon her neck suffocating her abruptly. Her eyes rolled up in the back of her head and she passed out on the floor, alive but barely.

Mousse ended it with a bucket of hot water dumped over the stranger's head. "That's enough of that," he sighed. "No need to burn everything down, Ronin."

"You always ruin my fun," the stranger, Ronin, said with an easy grin. "You know, it's a shame you can remove curses now. Would have been helpful back then."

"And you'd still whine. Now, where are the others?"

Ronin gestured in the direction of the east with a jerk of his head. "Headed for the house I suppose. Nice time for a reunion, yes?"

Mousse sighed tiredly and rubbed his temple. "Of course."

"Hey….why is this girl marked and not judged?" Ronin asked looking over in Cologne's direction. Shampoo had gotten up a few seconds after passing out and was barely standing with the aid of the old woman. Cologne seemed to be scolding her silently, not paying Mousse or he any mind.

Mousse could not provide an answer. He didn't know why himself, but he suspected it had a lot to do with how scarcely Ranma had been seen these days. "You can ask him why when we get to the dojo."

* * *

_**... At the Dojo... **_

"I said lay off old man," he growled. They sized each other up again, for the thousandth time that day. He towering over the little old demon he'd come to know as Happosai, who had a reputation no man could stomach. He was a pervert and a freak of nature in his eyes, more or less in other's opinions of him as well. Happosai moved back swinging the lariat trying to make a grab for another body in the room.

"I'm not going to tell you again...you touch him, I'll hurt you."

"Rubbish and poppy cock," Happosai sneered. "You can't hurt me! I know your kind."

"And I know of yours. Feed elsewhere and leave mine. Your only saving grace is the judgment of those who granted you the right to live this long…"

"Then deny me not! Kill me!"

Ranma was sorely tempted to, but now was not the time. To others it looked like a showdown between the old pervert and the young youth who dared to defy settled ways of a lecher. To them it was a silent battle of power that began and ended with Ranma quickly punting the little demon through the paper thin walls into the far concrete wall surrounding the house and cracking it yet again. It was the third crack this month in the same spot.

He fell to the ground with a grunt and scurried off with a huff before Ranma could really lay into him. Feeding off the youth and chaos in the house was not filling tonight. Happosai hopped off into the fading day to lay claim to the waiting treasures within the city that were lovely lovely underwear waiting for him to pluck. He barely thought about the mark on his neck, his hunger and need too great to realize how close he'd come to dying prematurely.

Ranma, on the other hand, was content to watch him leave. Happosai had been getting way out of hand as of late.

"You're getting better at keeping your calm," he heard his mate say quietly from behind him. It was a word of gentle praise as soft and warming as the light kiss Ryoga left on his bare shoulder. "I know it's hard…but I'm proud of you."

Ranma tucked his own lengthening hair behind his ear, turning to look into the smiling face of his lover and mate, Ryoga. A month had passed over them, and what should have been a trying and tense time within this household was nothing but silent bliss for he and his beloved. He reached out and gently threaded his fingers through Ryoga's soft and short locks of brown, a sense of warmth pooling in his heart again. What should have been them trying to escape the world and express their love for one another was Ranma and Ryoga freely doing what they wanted without question. It was quite a shock, but a welcome one they would not look take for granted.

Reappearing within the confines of their room a month ago after claiming Ryoga was strange and gratifying. He'd woken up to find himself curled around Ryoga, covered in a soft blanket of down upon a real bed and warmed by the summer colored sun. Ryoga had woken shortly after, and they had made tender love with Ranma kissing the bruises he'd inflicted the prior night. Ryoga had smiled at him, understanding in his eyes when his own fingers lingered over the marks he'd made upon Ranma's shoulders then. They were bonded through and through, and little else aside death would steal them from one another.

As they cautiously went about their lives as if nothing happened, his father was rather docile about things. Kasumi was still her loving self and Nabiki would smirk from time to time. Ranma had come to expect that much, but he wasn't expecting Akane to blatantly avoid him. She would happen to walk in his area, blush profusely, and then find a reason to run somewhere else. It was as strange as his father not doing anything to shove the two of them together, though Soun still had that covered for the both of them. Soun was nearly relentless in trying to get Ranma and Akane together in different ways, almost frantic for them to get along and get along well. It was scary…and suspicious.

Whatever he was thinking was put to rest with a light kiss on his lips, the soft lick of a pink tongue teasing his own as they parted with a light sound. "Let's go inside," Ryoga suggested. "He's gone for the night."

"That worries me," Ranma sighed. "But…I suppose it can't be helped."

"You still feel someone coming here?"

Ranma nodded, but pushed it to the back of his mind. He kissed the cloth covered brow of his lover and mate, wrapping his hand around Ryoga's waist and leading him deeper into the house to enjoy the night.

* * *

The days were getting longer. Night was a little slow to find its way to the land, lazily mingling with the evening in a haze of purples and blues, strange but elegant hues that coated the lands with its peaceful demeanor. Everything was quiet for once, and that within itself was a small miracle bordering the concept of strange.

Hazel eyes that had been closed had opened when the first bird of the night had sung. The tree that cradled him tickled his face with its leaves, stirring him out of his light nap. It was the first rest that he'd gotten since he'd arrived, and it was all but too tempting to let this go until another night had passed him by. It had been unbelievably easy to find his way here and sneak on the premises, and the amount of noise he seldom heard was miniscule. Had he not seen the two older men sitting on the side of the open house playing a game of shogi, he might have thought this house abandoned.

He sighed and rose quietly, swinging onto his hands and feet to scurry up the tree a little more.

Unknown to him, another figure was lying in wait in the shadows beneath some shrubbery that hadn't been tended to in quite some time. It was a nice cover and a nice way to rest itself before night had fallen and he saw through with its task. With night coming into its first blossoms and the house dimming itself for sleep, it had risen from its spot and eyed the roof. Trying to get into the main house was out of the question.

Unknown to one another, they took the same signal of the soft call of the wind, leaping towards the source of power they believed to be whom they were sent to find. They landed upon the roof with ease, and spied the other with weapons drawn for an all out fight.

The figure who'd been in the bushes quickly unsheathed a set of fans from his sleeves, large silver and sharp enough to cut the wind if it desired. The fans were met with a bo of hard wood twirling in a right hand effortlessly; the man from the tree standing there as if this were an everyday thing.

The figure with the fans waited and finally relaxed a bit. "You were sleeping in the tree, weren't you," he chuckled. "Greetings to you, Jinpachi."

"And greetings unto you, my dear Sage," Jinpachi grinned. "I didn't sense you with this power around here..."

"Its mingling so much it's hard to tell," Sage admitted. "Have you come on your own?"

"It was that time, yes. I needed to see if the whispers are right."

A soft moan coming from the window they were in front silence them. Curiosity was piqued, but not captured until that soft moan was a little louder and longer. They didn't have to look into to know what was going on. The set of boxers flying in the darkness and the soft muted yelp told them all they needed to know.

"You two still show some good judgment," someone said from above. "I suppose you two didn't seek death tonight."

They looked up as Mousse dropped down from a higher point on the roof with Ronin aside him, his cloak concealing his face much like Sage and Jinpachi's. Mousse rolled his eyes inwardly at their garbs, though he could see the need for them in the long run.

"Greetings to you," Mousse said. "I suppose you're wondering why you're here so early."

"This union was a bit premature," Jinpachi said. "I would have expected it to have occurred when Ranma was of proper age."

"Yes, well…someone saw to it that they would arise prematurely…a jealous heart who has not met judgment yet," Mousse explained. "Nor has that little demon scurrying around here somewhere…and it's almost puzzling."

"Personally, she should have died where I left her," Ronin growled.

Sage and Jinpachi were not familiar with this man. Mousse was a well known acquaintance, but Ronin was another matter.

Ronin could sense their slight unease and removed his hood as a sign of peace. An older version of the face they sought was presented to them with a scruffy appearance of a beard he lightly scratched from time to time. His hair was longer and strangely colored under the moon; the cold irises of his blue eyes unyielding of his emotions or what he was thinking. The glasses he wore threw them off even more. Had it not been for the trademark braid tumbling down to land on his shoulder, they might have wondered how such a man was kin to Ranma.

"I am Ronin Saotome," he said with a light bow. "I've come to claim my brother and teach him the ways of our Clan and the true art of Anything Goes. I am pleased to make your acquaintance."

Jin smiled slightly and pulled back his own hood. Ronin blinked and nearly laughed when he realized whom he'd been talking to. The man that stood before him was a built brick house with the foundation of the very mountains he roamed. Hazel eyes that were playful smiled in kind at Ronin, but were just as unreadable. A forest of untold images flickered with a gleam, stories of the earth and all it held dear resting in that one slight smile he offered the other man. He was a true beauty of the earth, yet marred by the single scar that resided across the bridge of his nose.

Jin rubbed his shaggy umber colored hair with a light laugh and scratched his white bandana for good measure. "I am Hibiki Jinpachi…but you may call me Jin, Ronin," he chuckled. "It has been quite a while."

"It has indeed," Ronin laughed. "But who is this one next to you?"

When Sage removed his mask, Mousse had to roll his eyes. Emerald flavored eyes peered at him in amusement as he himself tucked back a few choice strands of hair out of his exotic face. It was dipped in the very color of the night, fine and free as the wind sought to pick up just a bit. His graceful nature and stance was a complete throw off to anyone who didn't see the lean weapon waiting for the right moment to steal away your life. Too many people had fallen for that look of lust lingering in those slanted eyes, the promise of something forbidden on those soft pale lips. If it wasn't for the shimmer of those hidden pins within his hair, surely someone would have gotten too close to the deadly beauty.

"I see you recognize me, dear Mousse," he laughed lightly. "Surprised?"

"No...and I would kindly ask that you not spread your reputation as vastly as you have already...Sage."

"That's cousin to you...and I will spare you…for the moment. I am Sage," he said turning to bow lightly at Ronin. "I am Mousse's cousin."

"And a beauty. One to admire from a distance," Ronin said with a light wink. His words said one thing, but his hands resting upon Mousse's shoulders told volumes. Mousse's cheeks said the rest and it was all Sage could do not to giggle. "I've been away for quite some time. I believe we are long overdue for a reunion, yes?"

"On my roof?" someone else said. Everyone turned to the window in time to see Ranma yawning tiredly as he climbed out of it and sat down on the roof. Ryoga remained inside, though he did wave tiredly with a light smile as he leaned on the window ceil. This was not the greeting they were expecting. A little hostility was expected, but to have none?

"Ranma, are you that calm?" Mousse asked him.

"…Calm? Not really," Ranma said. "More like…content. Happy. Deliriously happy…and sated."

No one missed the swat from Ryoga's hand against Ranma's head, or the musical laughter of the man they'd been sent to teach, aid, and protect. Mousse was silently pleased at their easy bond with one another. It meant good things, and good things were more than welcome at this point.

Ranma looked up and barely saw Ronin move his hand. One moment he was standing there and the next he was grabbing hold of a panty-raiding Happosai looking about wildly. "This one is marked as well," he mused, mirth in his smirk as Happosai froze in his grip. He'd only been hopping through to get to his room and store his nightly bounty. He wasn't even thinking about Ranma or these strange people surrounding him. One moment he was bounding to his room and the next he was being yanked and put on display by a stranger's hand. Happosai had the good sense to keep quiet, mildly yelping as a finger prodded at the mark on his neck. "I wonder what you've done old man," Ronin mused.

"Nice," Ranma chuckled. "You have to show me how you did that."

"In time. Mousse, do you know where Genma is?"

"With Soun Tendo on the other side of the house," Mousse answered. "Why?"

Ronin dropped Happosai like a ton of bricks and let him bounce off of the roof. "We have…unfinished business. Excuse me."

Ronin was gone in seconds. The others, including Ranma and Ryoga raced after him, barely glimpsing the cloak fluttering in the air as he descended down towards the ground, startling the two men wrapped in their game of shogi.

Soun was quite surprised to have Genma get up so quickly. Usually the broad man would have sat there desperately trying to figure his way out of whatever mess would come up. He was even more shocked to have Genma lift him up and shove him out of the way of whatever fight was going to occur.

Ronin, curious now, tapped the side of his face thoughtfully. "Have you finally claimed him?" he questioned lightly.

"Not that it's your business, but no," Genma snapped irritably. "What are you doing here?"

"I am a bit early I suppose…but we have unfinished business."

The sword was out and gleaming as it cut through the air near Genma's head. Genma moved to the right and ducked backward, skillfully maneuvering away from the blade that wanted a chunk of his hide. Ronin pulled the sword back and thrust again, catching Genma's shirt as the older man spun and cracked his elbow against Ronin's exposed side. Ronin grunted and grinned a little, blocking the next blow with his fist and twisting to throw the man off of him and into the Koi pond.

Ranma expected a Panda to get up and hold up a sign begging for mercy, but he was a little more than stunned speechless when his father got back up as himself and attacked Ronin with a vigor he'd never seen in the old man before. Ronin was giving as good as he got, actually grunting with the effort to remain on the offensive after a solid moment. The commotion brought out the Tendo girls, Kasumi gasping and Nabiki intrigued while Akane rushed forward to stop the madness.

Soun grabbed her and yanked her away from the oblivious men fighting too hard to realize they almost wounded someone else.

"Dad!"

"You fool!" Soun snapped at her. "You could have been hurt!"

"But—!"

"I've told you never to get in between a man's fight! I didn't say it just to talk nonsense. I said it to keep your head on your shoulders a little longer!"

Whatever else that could have been said was silenced with a loud cry. Genma fell backward holding his arm and Ronin stood over him with his katana pressed to the side of his throat. Chest heaving for air and the sting of the wound greater than his injured pride, Genma relented and sat back in slight defeat.

"Well, I suppose that's that," Genma mused to himself. "Nice while it lasted…"

"Oh, you're not going anywhere _**pops**_."

"But the deal—"

"The agreement was that as long as I could not draw blood from you, I would not take charge of him," Ronin said. "Just because I've cut you a bit, it doesn't mean you get off. No, you get to stay here and undo the messes you've created trying to hide him."

Genma took it into consideration. "…I suppose that's fair."

Ranma, still on the roof, was highly confused. "Does someone want to tell me what's going on?" he called.

Genma, still clutching his wound, smiled as if nothing happened. "Ranma my boy, I think it's high time you've met your older brother, Ronin."

"….my WHAT?"

* * *

Yeah...I know. :D Noooooo Fllaaaaames!


	10. The bonds of familia

**AN:**

Sorry for the long wait between updates. :) We've been busy this year.

For the record, I don't quite care what anyone says. I'm not changing the story again...ever. So if you don't like it, well that's too bad. :) I tried.

This will be updated randomly, so...yeah, sorry about that. I'm in the middle of some things that require my attention.

And with that out of the way...onward!

* * *

_**The bonds of familia:**_

"So…how does this work, again?"

Ronin shrugged a little, sitting across from his brother, Ranma. He certainly was taking it better than he would have thought. Yes, Ranma did freak a little and nearly throttled their old man for withholding that kind of information from his supposedly "only" son, but he calmed down a bit after he kicked Genma in the head.

Now they were up in Ranma's room. All of them. Ranma hadn't said much until a moment ago, still trying to cope with the fact that he had a sibling. An older brother of all things. Ronin was half tempted to tell him about their sister, but held off on it. It would be amusing later on.

"Basically, the old man and I had a deal," Ronin explained. "When you were about five, we realized that you were a potential student of the anything goes arts. I wanted to teach you everything, but the old man wanted to hide you from the other clans."

"Why?" Ranma asked. "Wouldn't have been better for me to learn then?"

"In retrospect….yes and no. Yes because you'd be more advanced in skill and you'd know how to properly control your emotions to work for you. No…because you probably wouldn't have met your destined until much later. Things…have a strange way of working out."

Ranma nodded. He could understand that…and was a bit grateful that he hadn't had to wait to meet Ryoga again much later in life. He grinned as Ryoga wrapped his arms around him from behind, blatantly whispering something lewd to make his cheeks red and his chest hurt with laughter. He turned and kissed him, promising him later to make him pay for that remark. It was a promise Ryoga could look forward to. Until then, Ryoga was content to sit aside Ranma as any loyal mate would.

Ronin was very impressed…and rather pleased that it was someone he knew…even if Ryoga didn't remember him.

Ryoga, however, did remember his older cousin Jinpachi, or Jin as he liked to be called. When they met face to face for the first time, it was comical to see Ryoga squirm so much against the bear-like vice Jin called a hug. They hadn't seen each other in years thanks to Ryoga's tendency to get lost and Jin traveling the world. Jin was like the older brother he never had, and acted as such when he realized Ranma and Ryoga were mates. It was to be expected, and after interrogating Ranma and making him swear to always take care of Ryoga did Jin resume his normal lazy like way of being.

Jin was sitting aside Sage, who was more than amused at this turn of events. He was even more amused when Mousse finally joined them again, hesitating briefly when he saw Ronin looking at him expectedly. It had indeed been a long time but not long enough for him to forget his proper place.

Red cheeked but still elegant in the flow of his walk, he strolled past the others and knelt down aside Ronin. Ronin, sitting crossed legged with his head on his fist, tried not to laugh too much at Mousse.

"I know this is…strange for you," he said softly. "Especially after being out of my sight for ten years…"

Mousse forgot his embarrassment and stared at Ronin smiling gently. "It hasn't been that long…has it?"

"A little longer perhaps…but you've done well. I'm most appreciative for what you've done…and I'm sorry I left."

"I think there's a wide gap between leaving and being assigned to train under the elders," Mousse murmured. "You did what you had to…and I've done what you've asked of me. I think we've suffered enough."

"Yeah well…don't expect to get used to your freedom. It's over. You're stuck with me."

One would have thought his words were condemning if they didn't know Ronin Saotome. Mousse, hearing what wasn't being said, allowed himself to smile genuinely. "I suppose being chained to you won't kill me."

Ronin quietly laughed, taking the hand touching his knee into his own. "I should hope not."

They would have continued on quietly had Ranma not openly groaned into his hands. Ryoga was trying not to snicker. Sage and Jin had no problem with it.

Ranma glanced up through his fingers. They were still holding hands! "…don't tell me you two…are mates…" he moaned. "Oh god…that would make Mousse my aunt!"

"Your UNCLE, thanks," Mousse snapped. "And only in LAW."

"Wait…ten years? You been apart for ten years?" Ranma cried. "H-how? Just how old are you anyhow?"

"We're…old enough," Ronin answered vaguely. "And it wasn't a piece of cake, if you must know. I almost torched the elders," he murmured to Mousse. "They were trying to get me to stay LONGER."

"WHAT?" Mousse cried. "What for!"

"Relax. I'm here right?"

"And you'd better stay here!"

Well that settled that. Ranma didn't say another word about it. He was too freaked out to say much.

The door slid open abruptly. P-chan ran in squealing his head off and Nabiki was in the door breathing heavily. She never barged into Ranma's room, not unless it was a matter of life and death…or something like it. Ranma sniffed the air and almost vomited.

"Oh dear god, she's cooking!" he screamed.

"Can you say it any louder?"

Akane was in the door next, shoving her sister out of the way with a glare. "I'll have you know that I've worked HARD on this, and I expect you all to be there!" She stomped away muttering obscenities under her breath, nearly cracking the railings to the stairs as she made her way down.

Jin curiously sniffed the air. "What is that rank odor?"

"Dinner," Ranma moaned.

* * *

Tonight's specialty of the house was supposed to be a western dish. That rank smell was the smell of it gone bad and it being tossed in the trash to sit alone and ward off the animals that usually dug for their dinner. They had the good sense not to eat that poison, but the humans sitting at the table weren't so lucky.

Akane had switched tactics and decided to make something simpler; another western dish. Chili. The alarm going off several times in the span of ten minutes wasn't making anyone comfortable. In fact, Ranma was ready to crawl away before she came back and hide out for a couple of days for the sake of his stomach.

Ronin stared at his brother and his open dejection. "I don't understand. Why do you humor her if she can't cook?" he asked him. "Have you told her she can't cook?"

"She's been told," Mousse sighed. "A LOT. She's the reason that little marked demon Happosai is still alive. A medicine that kills brought him back to life."

"…are you serious?"

"I don't think you should cry from pity when you eat," Ranma muttered. "And it's not like I can just…refuse it. She did bear witness…and volunteered to help me when I didn't ask."

"So this is penance?" Jin asked, "Your stomach for the aid of a woman who strips the lining of your stomach with the smell of her cooking?"

"That and this was the final mess pops got me into. She is…technically…my fiancé."

Ronin shook his head tiredly. The old man had definitely done all he could to hide Ranma from everyone, but caused mayhem in the process. "We will have to rectify this, and soon," he said.

Mousse gently touched Ronin's hand with his fingers. "I must speak with you later about something important." Ronin gestured for him to speak of it now, but Mousse shook his head. It was a matter that needed another set of eyes and not several opinions on what should be done about the matter. "Later…okay?"

Akane appeared with a pot in her covered hands and a mask over her mouth. "I'm getting a cold," she explained as she put the pot down on the table. "I didn't want everyone to catch it."

Ronin highly doubted that. As she pulled her hands away, he noticed the vivid blue mark on her wrist. Such marks were supposed to fade after a day, and from his knowledge that day had come and gone a month ago. Mousse touched his hand again lightly. This must have been the matter he wanted to speak of. It wasn't a good omen…nor was the smell of that chili stripping the lining of his nose.

Or…was it chili?

"Uh, Akane, was it?" Ronin asked. "This…does not look like chili…"

It really didn't. There were bits and pieces of burnt vegetables swimming in a thick red sauce like substance that bubbled sickly in its own juices. A hunk of meat was spotted swimming and then sinking, and then there was a loud pop that didn't settle anyone's nerves.

Akane smiled nervously at them. "Well…I started making the Chili, but I wound up making….chili flavored curry…"

Sage, feeling a bit sadistic, stuck a chopstick into the mix. What came back were half a chopstick and his appetite leaving the premises. "This is acid, it what it is…" he mused lightly. "I could use this…somehow…"

"Isn't it a bit late to be eating anyhow?" Jin asked. "I mean, it's almost ten."

"You know, if you don't want to eat it, you could just say so!" Akane snapped. "Would it kill you to take a bite of it?"

Ryoga had to slap Ranma in the side when he almost nodded. Being the fearless one, and the one who had built a tolerance for most of what Akane could dish at him, he grabbed a spoon, scooped a bit of it up, and ate it before it could eat through the metal.

Akane fiddled with the edge of her apron. "Well?"

Ranma swallowed, sighed, and promptly ran for the Koi pond to dump himself in. Food shouldn't make your blood boil or make you sweat buckets or turn your stomach off for the next two days! Ranma-chan surfaced with a loud coughing fit, swam to the rocks and mumbled incoherently to herself.

She barely heard the footsteps of her brother before she saw him squatting in front of her. "Pops didn't take you to those grounds, did he?"

"You mean Jusenkyo? Oh, but of course," Ranma-chan moaned. "I think my lips are going numb…"

"You turn into a girl…"

"Ryoga used to turn into a pig…until Mousse did something…"

"Animal curses are easy to fix. Human ones aren't quite as easy," Ronin explained. "This form of yours…do you want to keep it?"

"….is your brain damaged?"

"I'll take that as a no."

"…..can you fix it?"

Ronin shrugged. He could try…he just wasn't sure what would happen. His own curse was…unique, and he hadn't thought to show it to Ranma if he could help it. It seemed that the old man was smarter than he looked, but lacked the common knowledge to tell Ranma about the curses, their meanings, and how and if they could be changed. Ronin sat back on his heels. There was a lot he had to teach Ranma. Their father wasn't kidding when he said he didn't want Ranma to be a part of this.

He reached out and took Ranma-chan's hand into his. "You're….probably not going to like this," Ronin said quietly.

"…like wha-AAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHH~~~!"

Ronin winced at the screams coming from his…sister. Well, that wasn't going to be a problem before long.

"What are you doing to her?"

It wouldn't be a problem if people didn't interfere. He looked back carelessly at the girl he'd come to know as Akane running out into yard to save Ranma from whatever. Her intentions were clear, but her knowledge completely lacking. She shouldn't have been able to come anywhere near them, and yet here she was within feet of him screaming for him to stop.

He did stop…but only when he felt his brother grab his hand weakly. No longer was there red hair beneath his gaze. The hand that grabbed him was definitely male, and stronger, much stronger than Ranma could have been if he were "normal".

Ranma raised his head, gold flickering where blue should have been. "Do I even…want…to know?"

Ronin shrugged. "Not really. You really have a LOT to learn."

"Ranma…are you okay?" Akane cried. Concern quickly turned to anger spun on Ronin. "What the hell did you do? I thought you were his brother! You're not supposed to hurt your brother!"

Ranma and Ronin looked at one another, and Ronin smiled lazily at the girl who was still utterly confused. "I just…fixed a BIG problem."

* * *

"This...is what you call fixed?"

"It was either this or something JUST as BAD," Ronin exclaimed. "It's not like it's the end of the world…yet."

Mousse threw up his hands in surrender. "I'm not saying that it's bad…but you could have done something more subtle…I mean, an Incubus? Ronin, really?"

"No, dear…not quite." Ronin's slight smirk reminded Mousse why the man was so infuriating at times and downright insufferable because he was quick to think of things others didn't…that **worked**. It was one of the reasons why the elders valued his brain more than his fighting skills, though his skills were something to be highly spoken of within their clans. "He's not an Incubus…like I tend to inhabit," Ronin explained. "I don't think his mate could handle that…kind of…activity after a while."

"Oh, and I can? Don't answer that if you want to keep your balls intact."

"Dudes, enough with the lover's spat and on with the explaining!" Ranma called. "And please…no more images!"

Mousse and Ronin stopped their idle bickering and turned back to the body standing silently in the shower again. It had been an interesting trip to get into the house without Akane noticing Ranma's new appendages. The girl was overly concerned about Ranma and his well being, and the guilt of her nearly poisoning him to death made her twice as overprotective. If it wasn't for Kasumi calling for Akane to come clean up her mess, Ranma would have stayed the night in the pond, much to the displeasure of himself and his mate.

Ranma had gotten in through the window to his room, stepping in and shaking himself dry in time for the others to bust in. He hadn't known what to say to them, but he didn't have to. Ronin quickly and quietly explained the situation as best he could without saying too much about one thing or another. After that, Ranma was being shoved into the shower to keep himself from catching cold and Mousse and Ronin were in there with him to make things a little more clear.

"Jusenkyo is exactly what it is," Mousse explained. "It is a land cursed to keep the forms of whoever dies upon it in perfect condition. That curse was meant for the fallen warriors, whom trained on the land, but the land shifted, changed, and pools formed over time. The pools took on the curse and kept the form of whatever was killed within its waters…and it wasn't known until an accident occurred a thousand years later just what happened to someone who fell into the waters and didn't die."

"But, like most curses, things about it can be shifted and twisted to alter things," Ronin said. "An animal curse is much easier to break than the curse of a human form. Animals are simple in nature. Humans are not. Demons are much more complex…and angels are nearly unexplainable."

"So…what am I, exactly…if I'm not an Incubus?" Ranma questioned.

"Honestly? I don't know."

"Ronin!"

"What? I said I'd fix it, not cure it…and anyhow," he huffed, "It has its benefits. Because you are a demon now, your former curse can be summoned. So, you can still turn into a female if you desire it, or…you can summon her to fight with you."

Ranma couldn't believe what he was hearing. "….are you certain of that?"

"I'm living proof…and in case you didn't see it, Pops didn't exactly let himself turn into a Panda when I fought him, now did he?"

Somehow, that was just too much to take in. "Do holy charms and wards work on this body?"

"I wouldn't know. I've never been exorcized. The thing is, Naniichuan Is and will forever be a moving pool."

"Moving?"

"Yes, moving," Mousse sighed. "The spring of drowned man, Naniichuan, is one of the first springs to surface upon that cursed ground. The man who fell into it was a wanderer, handicapped like Ryoga used to be…so it gets lost often. That pool can only be found by the person meant to find it, and the last time I checked, she was long gone. Finding it now can only happen two ways. The first is under the height of an eclipse of a Blue Moon. The few moments of darkness lets truth bleed through magic and anything can and will be seen. The second…concerns dying and all that…which is why no one finds it that way…"

"….and Eden?" Ranma asked quietly. "What of that place?"

Mousse and Ronin grew very quiet. Eden was a land no one spoke of openly without knowing the truth of that land and harboring secrets older than the earth itself. No one has found that land. No one had returned from pursuing it.

"It's hard to say…" Mousse said softly.

Ranma allowed himself to relax, head pressed against the wet tile as his wings spread themselves for the third time since he'd been made aware of the truth. In all that time he'd been enjoying his life, enjoying what little peace was given to him for however long it would last. It was perhaps the longest sweetest month in his life he'd ever know, and it was hard to give it up so soon.

"It'll get better, Ranma," Ronin said. "You have to learn…in order to protect what is important."

Ranma nodded softly, and sighed as he felt the calling ache for a land he only dreamt of. "…will we ever find it again? Does it even exist?"

"Only when God's tears fall from the heavens and his hands purify the earth. Until then...we are **stuck** here."

* * *

"Again!"

The crack of the cane against the wooden floor made him flinch, but he dropped to the floor on his knuckles and pushed himself past the strain of his muscles. Sweat was pouring off of him; a stain had formed on the wooden boards beneath him, pooling in the general form of his body. Heated pants poured from his cracking lips, the top lip split slightly from an earlier spat that landed him in this position now. He wasn't strong enough yet, his brother said. Not disciplined enough. He hadn't seen the need to be in this art, but all he knew of it was the chaos that ensued when he was thrown into the fires without knowing it.

Ranma shoved himself back up for the final time, straining to keep that position on bruised and bleeding knuckles. He gritted his teeth, shuddered, and held himself up despite the weight of his brother's gaze and the weight on his back. Seconds ticked by silently turning into minutes, and then there was the blessed sigh of his satisfied brother tapping the cane on the floor.

"All right…enough. Get off of him old man."

Genma quickly hopped off of Ranma's back. Ranma didn't recede from his position. He stayed there until Ronin tapped the floor lightly again. "At ease. You're done for the day. Practice the kata I taught you….backwards."

"Hai…sensei…"

Ronin wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Ugh. I hate that name…is it really necessary?" he asked turning to Mousse.

Mousse, sitting quietly behind him nodded and shrugged. "What can I say? You are his teacher."

"Right. All right then! I'm up for some nice cold water…Ranma, do you want some?"

Ranma, finally kneeling and panting somewhat, nodded as best he could without swallowing his tongue. He wanted water in the worst way possible, and he wanted a shower. A nice…long…shower.

It had been like this for the last several days. From the first day Ronin had appeared, he'd pressed him to get up at the ungodly hour of five in the morning, making him run from the house and halfway through town at a grueling pace he could barely keep up with. From midpoint he had to make his way back to the house without touching the ground. That meant leaping from roof to roof, and his thighs had ached more than they had in years. Only it wasn't over. Once they had gotten back to the house, Ronin forbade him to partake of a normal breakfast. He was only allowed a bowl of rice and a bit of fish, and then it was onto the sparring.

Sparring Ronin was an eye opener. Ranma thought himself proficient in Judo, Jujitsu, and Tae Kwan Do, but Ronin was a master and more. Ranma gave what he could give and then more, Ronin blocking his offense with ease at every turn. It was almost frustrating, but ultimately humiliating when his brother managed to pin him in a matter of moments.

Ranma liked to believe that he managed to impress Ronin with his weapons style, but he doubted it now. That match between them seemed a little easy, as if Ronin were holding back his true skill to temper Ranma's inferior one. After having his Bo broken and pinned to the floor yet again, the training had come in full force without a chance for him to breathe.

Something cold pressed itself to his head. Ranma gratefully leaned into it, almost slumping against the cool body of his mate smiling ruefully at his beaten and battered body. The cold cloth was a welcome comfort that lulled him to drift for a while, despite the light laughter at his exhaustion. Ryoga allowed him to slip down and rest his heated head in his lap, the cold cloth pressed against his head lovingly and faithfully.

Ronin sighed tiredly to himself. "At this rate, he might break faster than I did," he murmured.

"When he realizes what you're doing, he's going to make you pay," Mousse said. He stood up and walked to stand in front of him, not surprised when Ronin moved close enough to kiss the center of his forehead. Sweet memories as they were, he could find no fault in what Mousse was saying. "You certainly made the elders pay."

"They had it coming! And that's beside the point," laughed Ronin. "He's got to understand…Anything goes means just that. There are no rules, there are no boundaries…and when he realizes this, we might stand a chance."

"Even so…let him rest tomorrow. He's gone far enough….farther than you yourself at his age."

Indeed he had, but he wasn't going to let Ranma know that. He nodded to Mousse's request, smiling as the Amazon beauty kissed his cheek in gratitude. "All right," he said, "but you and Jin must train Ryoga tomorrow while Ranma sleeps this off."

"It shouldn't be too hard…he's trained under Cologne."

"….and lived?"

"I'm sitting right here aren't I?" Ryoga quipped. "It wasn't that bad…except for getting hit by that boulder…"

Ronin had dinner-plates for eyes. "She taught you that advanced technique! The breaking point!"

"She taught Ranma the Chestnuts move…we…weren't the best of friends at that point…"

"Call me stupid and hang me by the crack of my ass," Ranma murmured sleepily. "Dumbest…asshole….lying…right here."

Ronin could only stare at them. If they'd learned those moves…then perhaps there was true potential.

The loud cackle of Happosai echoed through the room. The crazy demon was up to no good again and loud about it as he hopped into the dojo and screamed in joy as he splashed Ranma with a bucket of cold ice water. He threw himself into the fleshy bosom of his chest and rubbed his head against the soft…fleshy?...firm?

"What the—ack!"

Clawed fingers wrapped around his little throat and tugged him off. Happosai looked in each hand, glaring at the wrong chi flowing within him. That was not the chi of female Ranma. In fact…it wasn't even human! "Say, what the fuck is this shit?" he snapped. "Where's my fix? Eiiiiii! Ranma, what the hell happened to you!"

Ranma raised one single brow elegantly. "Oh…nothing. You just have a concussion."

"I most certainly do no—"

A loud resounding "CRACK!" shook the foundation of the house and left a hole in the floor where Happosai lie twitching. Ranma rubbed his hands, shaking himself dry of the hot water pouring over his head a moment later. He was bone tired, still thirsty, and highly annoyed, but a smidgen of pride surged forth when his brother and father whistled at how deep the hole was.

"**If** he gets up…_**today**_…he probably has brain damage," Mousse chuckled.

"No contest," Ronin said in slight awe. "That was a deep one…deeper than the last two! That reminds me…Hey, bro…you know you're going to have to judge him and the girl soon, correct?"

Ranma gave him a curt nod. "I know."

"Well as long as you know…I say let's get something cold to eat. You've earned it today."

Ranma would have leapt for joy if he didn't ache so. He grimaced and smiled weakly as his laughing mate helped him along into the house. Ronin and Mousse followed, Genma jogging after them when he realized Happosai was still out cold about fifteen feet below.

No one noticed the slight movement of shadows slithering across the broken up floors.

* * *

"RANMA!"

Ranma nearly spat out the precious water he'd been given. Akane had come out of nowhere screaming his name indicating that he'd done something…again. He managed to swallow his water and lean back away from her red angry face huffing up nicely and ready to blast him a new one for whatever.

"What…is this?"

"What's what?"

"THIS!"

Ranma blinked and blushed horribly at the box she held up. A box of condoms. Worse…magnums. He didn't want to comprehend what she was thinking when she found those...

Akane watched his face redden considerably. It was her turn to gather the laundry from everyone's room and bring them down to Kasumi for her to wash properly. She'd only gotten to Ranma's room when she noticed a box sticking out of the pile of clothes left near the door. When she'd picked it up…well, her nose had seen better days. Why Ranma had these in his room was a mystery, and mystery that could only involve another girl.

Ranma and Akane stood at headway. Ranma wasn't giving, and Akane wasn't letting up.

Behind them, Jin and Sage looked at one another. Ronin wasn't giving Akane the best of looks, and Mousse was calm. Too calm. Genma had made himself scarce, as usual.

Ranma cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his head. "L-look…I don't know what **you** think, but I'm not THAT big. But thanks for the kind thoughts."

"Kind…say what? I wasn't—!"

"You thought they were mine!"

"Aren't they?"

"NO!"

"They were in your room with your stuff!"

"And? I don't have a need for them!"

Ryoga walked into the room from the kitchen in time to see the tail end of the situation. It looked like another argument. He hadn't seen one of those in quite a while. Not between these two anyhow. Ryoga was about to sit down with the others when he spied the box in Akane's hands and stopped cold. "Akane, where did you get those?" he cried.

"H-huh?" She stopped arguing long enough to hold up the box and blush again. "I-I found them in this pervert's room!"

"I am not a pervert!" Ranma snapped. "Those aren't mine!"

Ryoga held his head and groaned lightly. "That is the last time I hold anything for Nabiki…"

"Nabiki?" they cried. "These are hers?"

"Well duh! Ranma, what the hell do you need these for anyhow? You haven't had a need for them before…and they are…a little **extreme**."

Neon colored magnums with a mystery flavor was a little more than extreme. It was embarrassing and enlightening on the kinks of one Nabiki Tendo. Akane thought her head would bust.

Jin leaned forward a bit to lean against the table. "Dude, how in the hell did she get INTO the room?" he murmured. "Sage and I cast the strongest charms…no one is supposed to be able to get in or get out if they managed to breach the barrier."

"Maybe there is a flaw?" Sage suggested.

"No…there can't be. We checked twice…"

"Something is not right about that girl," Ronin mused. "And I can't tell WHAT…and that is _**bothering**_ me."

Mousse didn't say anything. He didn't have to. Ryoga was yanking Ranma away from his spot, falling away from the erupting shadows. Sage had to give it to Ryoga. He was getting better at sensing those things.

It happened faster than Akane could see. One moment everyone was sitting around staring at them, and the next she was hanging from her arms above the room with Sage grasping her wrists. Ronin was crushing something's neck in his palm, and Jin was pulling the end of is Bo from the back of something's skull. Mousse sheathed his weapon and kicked the shadowed body into the light of the outside, watching as it evaporated.

Ranma, holding his head, looked up at Ryoga busily checking him over. "What…how…did you sense those things?"

"I've been training…just as hard as you," Ryoga admitted. "Only to sense those things…"

"And those things were?"

"Shadow Ninjas of the New Moon," Ronin stated. He tossed the body in his grasp outside, ignoring the scream of darkness fading into the light of day. Jin did the same, and Sage dropped Akane onto the floor once they saw it was safe. He landed a fair distance away, holding his hand to his face as he tried to understand just what he felt surging through that girl a moment ago.

"If those are here…then—"

"The angels are going to follow. We—"

He was interrupted by a loud yelp and the force of something immense forcing him to shield himself. Ronin grunted as the house shook and the force behind it threw everyone off of their feet.

By the time the smoke and dust cleared, it was more than apparent what had occurred. Akane was breathing heavily within the midst of the damage, hands clenched around the mallet she had embedded into the floor with the intentions of crush Happosai to death. The little old man had gotten a nice boost from the swipe of her ass he managed, and now sat upon the mallet laughing crazily. Mousse quickly put an end to it, punting the little pervert for parts unknown with a swift unseen kick to the back of his head.

Jin and Sage looked to Ronin growling deeply. "She knows hammer space…" Sage muttered.

Jin nodded and held his hands to his head. "Now, we officially have a problem."

"Especially if she doesn't know…" Ronin irritably sighed. "Her origin lies without question now. We're going to have to force him."

"Force a judgment? Are you insane?"

He was far from insane; sane enough to know of true danger before it lit his ass on fire. "If we don't…we can't leave…and I'm NOT hanging around someone who doesn't know how to control hammer space."

* * *

More soon!

No, I didn't quite get rid of his female side. I can't. She'll come in handy much later. :)


	11. Darkness

_**An:**_

Back again...and I've got another chapter.

Still slow in updating this arc...cause frankly I've lost interest in some of it and I have other things I'm working on.

Still, I said I'd finish it. I just don't know when. :)

* * *

**Darkness:**

The shadows had made their move. It was in the wind as it called to the east, soaring past the chimes hanging within the mighty tree centered within the yard of his home. They had come and hadn't lasted against the likes of Ronin Saotome, Jin Hibiki, and Sage; the three chosen by the elders to protect and teach their best chance of fighting off the coming darkness.

He had been quite impressed at how fast things had come to a head, but chose to stay where he was for the time being. There was no need for him to step in, not until someone came knocking.

"Master, everything is tended to," he heard his butler say. The shadow of his form was just outside of his door, bowed low and proper, but ready to leave in an instant if need be. "Do you need anything else?"

"No…that will be all."

There was a wisp of sound. His butler was gone. He expected nothing less of his servant. He was alone now to meditate within the quiet confines of his room set aglow by white candles. The warm fires flickered in the still quiet, gently swaying with the inhale and exhale of his every breath.

He heard the light jingle of the bell before she was behind him. The flames blew out and relit themselves with blue fire, dancing in tune to the soft light and melody of a woman he hadn't seen in ages. It had been quite some time since she'd shown herself, and he wasn't disappointed to see that she hadn't changed from his mind's memory.

A quiet smile was given, and he bowed his head with his respects.

"My lady…I thought you'd forgone this form of yours," he said. "What brings you here to my domain?"

"You know of the shadows movement, correct?" she asked. "You and your companion…chase them did you not a cycle ago?"

"We did. They vanished before we could get anywhere. I've heard they've stricken with warnings of things to come. Is he ready?"

"Nay…he is not. My sister grows impatient."

He could only smile ruefully at that. "When isn't she?"

She moved closer to him, gently reaching out to touch the fingers slightly aglow with energy reaching out to her. Forefingers touched and middle fingers brushed, their remaining fingers hanging between them as the energy was given and taken between the currents that they were. Information was passed and a message was given.

He canted his brow elegantly in question. "He is demanding me to come?"

"More like…insisting upon it, really," she giggled. "Tomorrow around noon…you must explain."

It was the least he could do after all that had happened. He nodded. "Very well."

Darkness came and left him alone in the normal light of his candles and this time in the company of someone else. She never stayed long, and if she was here, her sister was visiting the old woman with a similar message. His lovely and so elegantly strange mate was sitting aside him, head pressed into his shoulder tiredly and sighing just as much. It was a tiring business they tended to, but necessary all the same.

"When she visits, it's never a good thing for the future," he heard his mate sigh. "Not without breaking our backs ten times over."

He laughed a little and hugged his mate close. "Well, sometimes it is a necessary evil…but no worries. Everything will be all right."

* * *

The garden was lovely today.

Ronin deeply inhaled the scent of summer finally turning its way into the lands, arms stretched high above him and soaking in the warmth of a bright sun. He never turned down an opportunity to pay homage to the day and its glory, basking in the flow of life at peace in a rare moment. Humans tended to go day to day without realizing the beauty of this precious land and all it offered for the sake of their pleasure, often living and dreaming thinking that this same world would be here day after day until death kissed them hello. Humans never truly realized that the world was ever changing, and those who did were the ones of human legend…myths…written folklore and forgotten within the dreams of children.

He sighed and let his hands fall down at his sides. The wind brushed past him gently and in the direction of a sight sweeter than honey from the purest comb. Ronin couldn't keep the warm smile from his face, or his mate from giggling aside him a moment later.

Ranma was ever so sweetly dozing the day away with his arms loosely wrapped around the sleeping form of his mate, Ryoga. They were pressed against the tree within the yard; the shadows of the leaves playing upon their relaxed faces and the sun peaking in quietly upon them through the tree. Ranma's cheek was pressed into the soft umber of Ryoga's hair, lips whispering soft things only Ranma and the air would know about. Ryoga seemed to press himself closer, smiling in his sleep as the day drifted by them. It was a rare moment for the two of them, and perhaps the only peace they would have in the coming days.

There was a flash, and Ronin had Jin to thank for capturing that moment on film. Ranma would probably kill them later for taking that photo, but it was worth it. Only lovers like they happened to be would lie around in the open as if there was nothing else in the world to bother them. It was a sign of their innocence and their belief that they were safe where they were from the outside world. While that might have been nice to have been true, it wasn't. Still, it was nice to see that innocence every now and again. It reminded them of when they were young and new to the world with ambitions far from what they were now.

"I think you really wore them down," Sage said to Ronin softly. He smiled as he said it, more amused than worried for the well being of those two. "It's nice to see them so relaxed."

"It's the least I could give them," Ronin sighed. "There won't be many more moments like this."

After yesterday's little demonstration, Ronin had decided that enough was enough. They were too exposed like this and he wasn't about to risk it all because he wanted to keep his brother comfortable. Ronin hated that he had to pull Ranma like this, but what needed to be done must be. The shadows had gotten a whiff of them and now they would keep coming. While there was no further sign of them now, it made them uneasy to stand around in a spot where they had attacked.

Alas, peace like this wasn't meant to last. Ronin could hear her stomping through the house before she was outside screaming for him. "RANMA!"

"WahhhhhH!"

"And there he goes," Ronin murmured. Ranma had come up quicker than ever, hands twisted and clenched as he looked about. There was nothing attacking him, but he didn't let his guard down for a second. Ronin was silently pleased, enough so that he called out to Ranma that things were okay. Ranma was slow to drop his stance, but when he did he slumped back down against the tree holding his head. That wasn't the best way to wake up for anyone.

Ryoga, jarred awake and alert as ever, sighed as Ranma slumped down against him with his hands pressed to his head. Ranma had been complaining of a headache since last night and he wasn't the only one. What had been a slow tolerable throb was now a steady pounding that just seemed to get worse with every loud noise. Ryoga pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to calm himself, but the ache wouldn't dissipate.

"Ryoga…I'm sorry," Ranma murmured tiredly. "I didn't mean to jar you…"

"You didn't cause this headache," Ryoga replied gently. "Why won't it go away?"

"I…I don't know. It's getting worse…"

It was getting a lot worse. Ranma almost screamed as Akane yelled for him again a mere five feet from where he lay. He clenched his hands over his ears; the noise coming from the girl was too much to bear. He didn't know what that noise was or why it was coming from Akane, but it was the loudest where she stood looking at him angrily with her hands fixed at her hips.

"You realize that while you were sleeping the day away, I had to go shopping, which was _**your**_ job," Akane snapped heatedly. "What's with you lately?"

Ranma shook his head. The noise… "….stop…"

"What?"

"….shut up…just shut up…"

"Excuse me?"

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

It was worse than when Leo had screamed the voiced pain of the universe that night. Much worse. He got up and shoved past a stunned Akane, running as far as possible away from the noise. He'd never heard anything like that…it felt like someone screeching through a microphone and tearing themselves apart with their bare hands as they lie bleeding to death. Nothing should sound like that…

"Ranma!"

"…..R…..R-Ryoga?"

He looked up and found himself in the dojo near the hole he'd put Happosai through. The noise had dimmed quite a bit now. He was free to uncover his ears. As soon as his hands were free they were full again, holding Ryoga closer as his mate wrapped himself around his waist. It was as if he never had the headache when they touched. The pain was gone, wiped clean from his mind and the walls surrounding it. The noise was a distant memory and the soft press of Ryoga's lips to his made the world seem a little fairer.

They parted and Ranma gratefully rested his head against Ryoga's. He hadn't been this glad for silence in forever.

"What the hell was that noise?"

"The sound of power without compassion," someone said. "Only one clan emits such a sound and they are our sworn enemies."

They looked up hoping to see Ronin speaking, but he wasn't. He wasn't even there. That didn't mean someone wasn't. Whoever spoke appeared in the light of the doorway, slowly making their way forward until they could be seen in normal light. Ranma widened his eyes a bit, more than surprised to see this person. Ryoga was just as surprised, but not to the point of speechlessness his mate happened to be in. "T-Tsubasa?"

Tsubasa nodded, flipping his long hair back from his face. The young man had grown a lot from the days of his sworn vows of getting Ukyo's heart. He'd grown nearly as tall as Ranma had in height, but he hadn't become a handsome young man. He was quite the opposite. Tsubasa was truly a beauty to admire, fair and subtle in looks but dangerous all the same. He reminded Ranma a lot of Sage, but not as exotic or promising of death if getting too close.

Tsubasa smiled gently at them. "Don't be so shocked to see me," he said. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"A while indeed," Ryoga said. "What brings you here?"

"My mate was summoned to explain things to you," Tsubasa explained. "He's gathering the others now. They should be here in a moment."

"You mean we should be here now," Ronin said walking into the dojo. Tsubasa turned and bowed his greetings, his submission a sign of respect and admiration. Ronin nodded his acknowledgement and allowed the man behind him to come forward.

Mousse, Jin, and Sage sauntered into the dojo behind Ronin, taking their places to form a slight semi-circle. The main attraction of the moment stepped forward, enjoying the utter look of dismay and bewilderment flashing across Ranma's face. He couldn't quite blame him. It wasn't everyday that Tatewaki Kuno stepped into the Tendo dojo without the words "Die Ranma" leaving his lips.

Ranma worked his jaw for several seconds and could only manage, "You have normal clothes?" Kuno couldn't keep the laughter from escaping, knowing that Ranma was still working his brain past the sight of him. Ranma seemed to catch up a moment later, eyeing everyone who'd gathered in the room. "Okay…what's going on?"

Each one of them moved a piece of clothing on their bodies, revealing a mark of some kind branded into their skin. Jin had removed the bandana from his head and revealed the earthen marks of a harvest moon sitting there peacefully. Sage had pulled his right sleeve up revealing the mark of a full moon sitting idly upon his bicep. Ronin's mark was like Ranma's, sitting upon his forehead but clear as it appeared without the effort of him changing. Mousse had pulled back his left sleeve, revealing the beginning of a mark that would extend up his arm and wrap around his left bicep twice to twine with the mark he'd been given as a guardian. His clan's mark was twin crescents facing outward of one another, the right one white and the left one yellow. Tsubasa and Kuno held up their opposite hands, a bright ring of white flame circled around a dark sphere of black.

Ranma recognized each one. Jin was of the Earthen Moon. Sage was of the Full Moon. Ronin was of the Blue Moon. Mousse was of the Crescent moons. Kuno and Tsubasa were of the Eclipsed Moon. Their marks were distinct and clear in their meaning and specialty, but what was the meaning of showing them to him?

It hit him hard when he'd stopped thinking about it. He turned and gently removed Ryoga's bandana, blinking at the mark that appeared without warning. He'd never thought about why Ryoga wore that bandana day in and day out. Ranma wasn't concerned about that. But now that he saw…everything snapped into place like a jigsaw puzzle long overdue in being pieced together.

Ryoga's mark was of the blue moon, but his symbol was twined with the mark of infinity.

"He has the potential to do much," Kuno said, drawing Ranma's attention to him. "As do you. His mark is a sign of things to come in the school of Anything Goes."

"What does it mean?" Ranma asked.

"No one really knows…but it was told that a mark of infinity upon a blue moon would set the course for the coming war between the clans of the moon."

"War?" Ryoga cried.

"Hai. WAR," Jin exclaimed. "The Clans of the Moon have their own abilities to speak of and forms to choose, but each clan is of the house of Anything Goes. The New Moon, a Clan that gathers when and where the Moon is darkest upon the skies and lights nothing, embracing the chaos but harboring it. Unlike us, they seek to control it and use it to gain. We seek to silence the chaos by taking it upon ourselves and dealing with it as we know best."

"The constant fighting? The urge to keep moving despite wanting to be still? That is chaos working its way through you," Mousse explained. "Absurd techniques and strange skills are nothing more than inventions to vent this, which is why you see some really strange shit at times."

"And it doesn't end there," Sage said. "It never ends. If it does, the earth will die."

"Chaos is an element within itself," Kuno said. He took a step forward, more serious than anyone had ever seen him before this moment. "It is an element that cannot be controlled. However, it can be diverted. As we've said, each clan has its own abilities, and that does not limit itself to the elements. My Clan is of the Lunar Eclipse. We are masters of the night and disguise."

"My clan is of the Earthen Moon," Jin said. "I harbor the ability to communicate with the earth and use it as I see fit."

"I am of the Full Moon," Sage said. "I can manipulate water however I please and flex the emotions of people."

"I am of the Twin Crescent," Mousse announced. "Before I was made a guardian, I had the manipulation of air and the ability to use any weapon put in my hand."

"And of course, we…are of the Blue Moon," Ronin said moving to stand in the middle of them all. "Our Clan is a rare breed of people, blessed with the power of emotion in three forms. We are born with a destined in mind. We always find that destined even if they are of another clan. Our powers are very rare…because we have limitless potential."

"Even with all that's been said," Kuno said as he came to stand aside Ronin, "The point it this. When the Angels of the New Moon fall from the dark heavens, they will unleash the Chaos they've harvested. It will tear humans apart from their souls and leave them vulnerable. Chaos was never meant to be controlled. It was said that one will be born to stop them, but alone he will fail. He and his destined will rise under the mark of a Rare Moon Sign and quiet the chaos with a single choice. Ranma…you were born for Ryoga. You were born to love him…and **protect** him. He is the key to ending this war."

Ranma didn't understand it. He didn't want to understand it. Unfortunately he wasn't someone to let it simply sink in at a slow rate and wait for someone to say it. He knew it. It had settled deep in his heart that day when he'd nearly lost Ryoga thanks to a moment of jealously.

"…because I'm the one…" he murmured. "Aren't I."

"Yeah, bro…you are," Ronin sighed. "You are the one who will decide where this school goes and the final piece to ending this war. Ya know," he said moving off beat as he tended to when he was done talking about something, "stuff like this shouldn't happen. I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop."

"It's still too quiet for you?" Mousse teased lightly.

"Well DUH. We should totally get some ice-cream or something."

Kuno eyed the older brother of Ranma. "Are you always like this?"

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Never mind him," Mousse laughed. "It just means he's done with this. There is another matter we have to attend to however. Ranma, I hope you don't mind?"

Ranma shook his head. Right now, he just wanted to sleep. "What is it?"

Mousse didn't have a chance to explain. He was being yanked away from his spot, tucked safely in Ronin's arms as someone came crashing down into the floor with her fists. Shampoo rose from the rubble growling, uncaring of her surroundings or about Cologne screaming at her to stop this madness. It had all come to a head in one infallible moment of muttering that ended in her screaming. She couldn't take it another day; the not knowing if he'd show up or if she'd wake up at all to wonder about it. It was driving her insane, and that was worse than being judged. Her violet gaze rested upon Ranma and then upon Ryoga with a hate that flared brighter than her aura.

Ranma felt his stomach flip uneasily. He hadn't laid eyes on Shampoo since that day in the garden, having no desire to see her or do what he had promised to do. That brief moment of hesitation allowed him to see her shift her focus onto his mate, and the protective and violent side of him stood in front of the lost boy with his fists up. He didn't make it a habit of fighting girls, but anyone looking at his mate like that was aiming to get smacked.

"Looks like we might not have to force it," Jin mused lightly.

Sage nodded just as much. "I think chaos is acting up again…"

Indeed it was. Shampoo twisted off of her foot and attacked Ranma head on only to meet the broad side of Genma's fist slamming her back against her gut into the floor. Without warning he was a Panda, slamming his paws against and into the wood by her head and in the spot she managed to flip from without much effort. Genma, moving faster than anyone had seen, charged after her with wild swings, giving her a run for her money until Happosai decided to jump into the picture.

The little lech had appeared out of nowhere, cackling madly as he leapt on Genma Panda's head and smashed his fist against his furry head. Rather than passing out, Genma Panda roared loudly in anger, startling Happosai long enough to be swiped from his head and knocked into the concrete wall with a sickening crack. He slid down and remained limp, the lump on his head telling on itself. The panda swung around and staggered back as Shampoo cracked her fist against his jaw.

Ranma and Ronin went to go help him, but they were shocked when Soun came out of the woodworks with Nabiki backing him up. Soun was furious and Nabiki equally so for unknown reasons. Either way Shampoo wasn't expecting them to show up or to fight her as hard as they did with moves no one had the pleasure of seeing. Ranma had never seen Nabiki move as fluently as she did when she talked her way in and out of situations, her body weaving in and out of Shampoo's attacks without lifting a finger. She didn't even look concerned. A final swing made Nabiki tip backwards out of the way, sidestepping at the last moment to allow her father to come at Shampoo with a well placed hand over her face. He shoved and she went flying, landing in a heap a few feet away before her great-grandmother Cologne standing next to Kasumi of all people.

"You try that again…and there will be problems," Soun spat.

Ranma was expecting that to be the end of it, but like clockwork someone else was coming out of the woodworks. He heard the familiar voice of Ukyo calling for Tsubasa, who called back to her letting her know where they were. She appeared shortly after, dressed in her usual uniform with her spatula attached to her backside. She stopped when she noticed the tension in the air and spied everyone glaring or staring at Shampoo getting up from the ground.

"Wha…what's going on?"

All eyes fell on Akane. They hadn't quite noticed when she got there but she was there nonetheless. She blinked as she saw Kuno and Tsubasa—dressed normally for once—come out of the dojo with the others behind them. What were they doing here? And why was her father tending to Genma as if he'd been hurt badly? What in the world was Nabiki doing out here, and why was Kasumi standing next to Cologne? Why were any of them here anyhow?

"Shit…that man hits hard," she heard Genma mutter. "Ow…ow….OW…"

She heard her father laugh as he rubbed the bump on Genma's head gently. "How's your face?"

"Sore."

"You're okay then."

"Whooo….looks like everyone's here," Kuno mused. Akane looked at him sharply, alarmed when he briefly looked at her and away again. "I suppose we'd better get this over with."

"Get what over with?" Akane asked. Her gaze rested on Ranma and her temper flared again. Why else would everyone be here unless this involved another fiancé scheme of some sort? Or worse yet, a duel of some sort…over her perhaps or over a stupid matter as usual. "Ranma, this had better not be another one of your numerous fiancé bids," she barked, "Or some stupid competition to see who has the biggest balls. The house is already in shambles!"

"He's already married," Ronin said before Ranma could respond. Ranma gaped at him and Ronin shrugged completely disregarding the look of utter disbelief and shock creeping onto Shampoo, Ukyo, and Akane's faces. "What? You are…so technically you don't have a fiancé. You have a…well, not a wife, but a mate…"

"Y-you're married?" Akane screamed. "H-how? WHEN?"

"He got married a little over a month ago," Mousse said. "You were there."

"I most certainly was no—"

"Yeah, you were. You just didn't realize it."

"Ranma didn't get married, and I wasn't there!" Akane snapped. "I wouldn't just stand there and watch him marry some other female with my blessing! And I know he certainly didn't marry ME."

Ronin muttered something along the lines of small miracles and got slapped in the side by his mate. Akane didn't quite catch it, but she knew that comment was directed at her. Why was everything so confusing? Ranma hadn't gotten married! She would remember something like that…vividly. All that happened within the last month was getting Ryoga back from the grips of death…and Ranma…going through some lengths to bring him back. He even went so far as to kiss him, which was like a sick fairy tale come to life when Ryoga came back.

But the way they looked at one another was disturbing…and she couldn't forget the lingering hand Ranma had placed over Ryoga's heart before they'd vanished from their sight. She'd wondered why they had vanished, but she was happy knowing that Ryoga wasn't going to die and that things could get back to normal…somewhat.

A wedding though? Really? What kind of fool did Mousse take her for? "Ranma, can you please tell him that you aren't married," she instructed. "Tell him that I wasn't there, and this game isn't funny!"

Ranma couldn't exactly do that. He'd been hoping she knew, but her thickness was known to get to her at the worst of times. Like now. "Akane…I can't tell him that."

"Why not!"

"Because…I am married."

"…..what?"

"I—"

"I heard what you said! What do you mean you're married?" she cried heatedly. "How could you do that? And to who?"

Ranma started to say something, but Ryoga beat him to the punch. "He's married to me, Akane," he said. The look in her eyes was enough to kill the toughest of men and slaughter an army from her rage and sorrow. Ryoga paid it no mind, taking Ranma's hand into his and pressing himself into Ranma's warming side. "We got married…a month ago."

"…please tell me this is some sick joke," she whimpered. "Two guys can't get married…it's illegal!"

"Not in the eyes of our clan," Ronin said. "It does not matter what gender your destined is. We are born with someone to balance us, whether it be Yin or Yang."

"All….all this time….you both…LIED to me…"

Ronin felt the hum of hammer space being opened before it happened. Akane swung before she could think and knocked everything and everyone one off of their feet and out of the way. The earth shook violently, trembling even after she pulled the mallet from the hole she'd left and swung the mallet at the first thing she saw. Ryoga.

The hammer was coming down faster than they expected. Ryoga barely had a moment to brace himself when the loud smack of wood hitting something firm made him look up. Ranma was in the way of him and that thing, his hand nullifying the force behind it and knocking the thing backwards with a flick of his wrist. She stumbled backwards with the weight of it, gasping as Ranma put his fist through it and shattered that hammer along with her resolve.

"For your sake, DO NOT try that again!" Ranma roared. "I will NOT tolerate ANYONE laying a FINGER on my MATE!"

"YOU—"

"SHUT UP! LEST YOU ARE MARKED AS THOSE WHO WILL BE JUDGED ON MORROW'S EVE!"

Akane wisely shut up, vivid memories of Shampoo lying on the ground gasping for air because of that black mark appearing on her neck. It didn't conceal her bitterness, or her hatred for the boy who was supposed to love her.

Ranma could see it plain as day, but he held no regret in his heart. He had misled her, but numerous times they'd clashed with the same intent of not getting married by force. He'd chosen his path willingly and fell into the role given to him, but now it was time to move on. Humans were so fickle with their motives. Not even a month ago was she willing to brave the unknown to get Ryoga back. Now that she knew the reason why, she was quick to shun him and damn him in her mind as she fought her bitterness.

He could find no fault it in. She had loved him if unknowingly, and hoped for something that would not happen.

"I will be back tomorrow," he said in a normal tone. "Shampoo and Happosai are to be here at the exact moment of three-fifteen and not a second later. If they are not here, judgment will be automatic death and I will send the hellions for your souls."

Shampoo shuddered openly and broke down into bone wracking sobs. Happosai had recovered a moment ago and now sat grumbling to himself. Ranma paid them no mind. He was turning to Ukyo who hadn't been able to say or do much. Her eyes belayed her silence, and for what it was worth, Ranma openly apologized to her. He truly didn't mean her harm and never sought to involve her in any of this. Ukyo could only give him a watery smile. While she didn't understand it, she knew what he felt was true. His happiness mattered just as much as anyone else's.

"Hey, U-chan…you want my girl clothes?" he asked. She blinked and he smiled widely at her confusion. "I'm not going to need them."

"…even the good stuff?"

"Yep. I still want to be your friend…even if it means bribing you with the good stuff."

Ukyo smiled a little wider and laughed at him. There was no need for him to worry about them not ever being friends. "We're okay Ran-chan. Just be good to each other."

He finally turned around to face Akane. She was near tears but her anger was stronger than her misery. She had every right to be angry for several reasons. He found no fault with her for that.

However…

"You will be here as well," Ranma instructed. Akane looked up and frantically felt for a mark like the one Shampoo and Happosai harbored. "You have not been marked, so stop. I grant you that mercy…if any is to come."

"Why do I have to be here?" she screamed. "I didn't do anything! You lied to me! Lied to everyone! How can you call yourself a man and do what you've done? Friends don't do this!"

"…I never thought of you as a friend, Akane."

Ranma turned away from the blanching girl and leapt off. He bade the others not to follow him, wishing to be alone for the moment. As he left the skies turned an ugly shade of gray, the imminent storms brewing within the fat clouds swelling until they burst without warning.

Ronin took it as an opportunity to leave this place. He grabbed Mousse with Ryoga and directed Jin and Sage to follow. Kuno had already started to leave with Tsubasa. He knew where they were going and he would see them soon enough within his estate. For now he and Tsubasa had other business to attend to, like getting Ukyo home.

Cologne gathered her great-granddaughter and directed her back to the Nekohanten with a glare no one could stand. Shampoo hung her head in shame, but she was glad, so incredibly glad that she no longer had to wait and wonder. She walked through the rain without a word, but relief flooding her senses to the point where she didn't realize she'd become a cat.

Nabiki ran into the house. Kasumi was quick to follow. Soun helped Genma up and helped him walk into the house after they had dragged Happosai with them. The old man was still muttering something fierce, too angry to fight and too worried to mouth off. He'd lived a long time, but this could very well mean the end of him. Ranma wasn't above himself to kill him if he saw fit. Genma as well, now that he thought about it. The clumsy oaf he thought to be a student was actually someone else entirely. He'd seen that when Genma had fought Shampoo… and that was the scary part of it all.

No one seemed to notice Akane slumped over in the midst of the rain, mourning over the one thing she'd thought she had. The mark upon her wrist darkened until it was as black as the hole within her heart.

* * *

Ah...no promises on when the next chapter is. ^-^


	12. Night's Song

**AN:**

...yeah, I know. Long time no update, huh? :)

* * *

**Night's Song**

Ryoga was restless with worry.

They had fled the Tendo household hours ago, abandoning the hope of understanding and leaving behind whatever future might have been for them. They had run through the pouring rains further and further from that household until they had appeared before the familiar estate belonging to Tatewaki Kuno. His ever faithful butler Sasuke was waiting for them. He waved them into the house, leading them towards the main room where warm tea was waiting on them to drink and warm themselves with. They had sat down and warmed themselves in silence, lost in their own thoughts. Much had happened in such a short time. It was a lot to take in and there was much to be dealt with.

Kuno and Tsubasa had made their way back perhaps an hour afterward with warm food in their hands for them to partake in courteously from Ukyo. She'd stayed behind at the shop to make the day's wages rather than follow like she wanted to. As everyone took their fill and ate until they could stand no more, Ryoga slipped away from them and went to sit near an open door. He wasn't particularly hungry when worry was eating away at him. Ranma should have been back by now, yet there was no sign of him anywhere.

All Ryoga could do was wait and wait he did past the cleanup of the food, the discussions for what move to make next, and the dismissal of all else when sleep finally got to them. Jin had come to place a reassuring hand on his shoulder but it didn't make Ryoga feel any better about anything. Everyone had eventually retired for the night, save one presence that didn't feel the need to sleep anymore than Ryoga did.

Kuno came and sat beside him. "I know this is strange for you."

That was a bold face lie. This was more than strange. Those words were Kuno trying to be kind about it because he knew exactly how Ryoga felt. Ryoga still couldn't wrap his mind around it all. "How about freaky?"

"That too," Kuno added, "Especially seeing me sitting here talking to you…**_normally_**."

"…why can't people like us have a normal life?"

"Well…that usually comes after the chaos. It wouldn't be a good movie if you didn't have a little drama now and again." Kuno winked to show that he was kidding, which got the resulting wane smile from Ryoga he'd been looking for. He patted Ryoga's shoulder and said, "Sometimes we don't know why the script is written like it is, but there is a point behind it all, as important or as dumb as it may seem later on. The important thing is that we live our lives to the fullest, and hold no regrets."

Oddly enough, that made sense, and Ryoga didn't know if he wanted to laugh or cry. Kuno kept him from both, offering him a cup of herbal tea to sooth his rattled nerves.

The rains kept falling as they stood to find their way to the kitchen, but the ominous thud and splash from the outside kept them from moving. The rain was thick enough in the dark night to cloak whatever was out there from their sights, but the loud cursing escaping from someone's lips made them realize who it was and what was happening.

Kuno swung his fists to the right, slamming his knuckles into the cheek of the shadow that caught wind of them. The force was great enough to twist its neck out of place. It slumped to the floor unmoving as Kuno claimed another with a sword through its chest. The shadow that slithered behind its two fallen comrades came a little more cautiously, but Ryoga was angry and waiting.

The sounds of fighting brought the others running. Jin was the first to arrive with his Bo in hand, but there was nothing to use it against. Mousse, Sage, and Ronin quickly brought up the rear, alarmed and amazed at the damage that had been brought. The Shadow Ninjas that had attacked were dispatched and broken, lying haphazardly upon the ground at the outside with bits of dirt and rock embedded within them. If not that, then they were lying in a twisted position with a wound to their heart or missing their heads from a clean swipe of a sword.

The negative energy was already dissipating but the resounding cry followed by a foundation quivering thud from a massive body told more than they could see. All that mattered in the next moment was Kuno walking in out of the rain with Ryoga behind him helping a very torn up and battle weary Ranma.

"What the hell happened?" Ronin demanded to know. "Ranma!"

Ranma shook his head weakly. It was hard to breathe a bit, and his side was killing him. There had to be a broken rib somewhere. He could feel it grinding against another whenever he tried to stand up straight. "I…It came…out of nowhere," Ranma murmured tiredly. "It…just attacked me…"

"Ronin, that thing out there belongs to one of the Dark Angels," Kuno panted. "They mean business….they've summoned their beasts of the dark."

"And Ranma fought it off?" Sage asked incredulously. "Unreal…"

"I…had help…" Ranma weakly smiled at his mate, reaching to cling to his shirt with dirtied bleeding hands. Ryoga caught him before he could fall, calling for him to stay awake. It was kind of hard when bat-like wings were weighed down with exhaustion, and when he was bleeding from several gashes. But he tried for a moment. Eventually it was too much, and he dropped his head into Ryoga's comforting embrace to sleep.

"He's not going to let go," Ronin said. Ryoga looked up at him pushing him for a better explanation. "He's not going to let go of you, which is going to be weird. We have to patch him up quickly."

Mousse knelt down to Ranma's prone body currently stuck in the alternate curse Ronin had given his brother. "Someone get me a kit," he instructed, "and someone call Cologne and Tofu over here."

A commotion of bodies running about came and went and left Ryoga alone with Ranma resting against him. Any other night he would have smiled at the peacefully face pressed against his lap. Tonight, however, his lips were pressed thin as he tried not to cry over Ranma and the blood seeping upon the floor.

* * *

"He'll be fine," Tofu said. He wiped his hands dry on the towel he'd been given, sighing as he looked over the bandaged form of Ranma lying prostrate upon the bedding he'd been placed upon. He was much cleaner than he had been when he got here, thanks to Mousse and Ryoga doing their best to clean him up without moving him too much. Ranma was so out of it that he didn't protest to anything until they'd tried to pry him from Ryoga's shirt.

That was certainly an event. Ronin really didn't know what it was like to be smacked by his own wings until Ranma demonstrated it in an effort to get back to Ryoga. He had a nice little welt on his cheek which would go away soon enough. Cologne had offered to place some ointment on it but he declined, weary of anything she should harbor. He still couldn't summon his curse at will, so they had to douse him in hot water before they could do anything. Once he was back to normal, Tofu had worked for an hour straight stitching him up, disinfecting wounds, and taping his ribs. He had broken two of them. Tofu was amazed that was all he broke.

Now that Ranma was relatively stable and sleeping easy despite having his ribs taped up, they sat around the room to regroup. Tofu didn't really have a part in all this, but he was knowledgeable in many things. He sat down with them, to listen if not offer a piece of advice here or there. It was too late to wander home now, and Kuno offered him residence until morning when it was much safer for him to travel.

"What was Ranma doing out there anyhow?" Tofu asked them.

"Ranma has a tendency to leap off when he's mad about something," Ryoga said. "I thought he'd be back sooner…but I didn't know…"

Jin took to comforting his cousin. "No one knew. This is bold, even for the New Moon."

Cologne tapped her chin thoughtfully. "It is…and then it is not. They have tried desperate measures before. Summoning a dark beast isn't beyond them...and if indeed the first Dark Angel has arrived, we must go back to the Sanctuary."

"Everyone will be headed there now," Mousse said. "We might as well be amongst them."

"But that means dragging the old man back," Ronin sighed. He shook his head in mild disgust. There was nothing worse than dragging his father anywhere unwillingly. Genma was a handful and then some, and learning of his youngest son's fate sent him fleeing into the real world to hide him from all. Trying to track him was like looking at a long suffering book of nonsense that had no plot. He was not about to call his mother to deal with him. She'd take his head first. "Ai ya…sometimes I wish that man would just be normal."

"He's not going to leave without Soun, you know," Cologne mentioned lightly. It was a heavy fact that weighed more on Ronin's mind than he cared to admit. "We might have to drag him as well."

"Ai YA! Please don't remind me of that sad notion!" Ronin huffed and folded his arms heatedly over his chest. "The elders are sure to have my hide if I bring them!"

"Why?" Ryoga asked. "What's so bad about bringing Mr. Tendo along with Genma?"

Ronin didn't know how or want to explain it. It was just too confusing, even after knowing it for several years. "It's…complicated…"

"Not really," Cologne said. Ronin glared at her to shut up but she ignored him, implored to answer Ryoga's question. "You see, Genma is the very last of his Clan. He is the only one who was born under the eclipse of a blue moon, a rare event that happens once every five thousand years. He is not bound to a destined. He is free to fall in and out of love while maintaining two of the three emotions Blue Moon tend to harbor. It was said that any son he should sire would harbor great skill and potential…and he was placing his money on you, right?" she said looking at Ronin.

"Yeah…but it didn't pan out like that," Ronin mumbled. "See…even though pops had sired children with my mother, his feelings lie with that man, Soun Tendo. Soun had three girls of his own, an after his wife passed, my father thought it was best to keep his feelings to himself. Ranma was born two years before Soun's youngest daughter, and as some crazy way to stay close to him, he promised Ranma to wed Akane. Ranma's fate had been determined when the mark appeared on his head at birth, and he sought to find any way possible to keep him from it and knowing the real art of Anything Goes."

"Unfortunately you can't deny what is in your blood," he said somewhat sadly. "He wound up teaching Ranma anyhow, just to make sure he could survive if something happened to him. At one point I found him…and it was then that I promised not to take charge of Ranma until I could make Genma bleed. Believe it or not, the man was stronger than me at the time…but I think he's allowed himself to grow weaker…"

"His time is not promised," Cologne said softly. "It is freely given…and can be taken away. One drawback to being someone who sires those of potential is that his is limited like his time. Genma…will die very soon…and he knows it."

"And dragging him back…will pull him away from what little time he has left with Soun," Mousse said sadly. "We can't bring him back…but we don't have a choice."

Ryoga felt the sting in his eyes broaden until those tears were running down his fingers. He hadn't known. Ranma hadn't known. There was always a reason behind the behavior of others, and Genma's docile nature over the last month was him making peace with a situation he couldn't avoid. He was going to die and he wanted things to be normal for them as long as possible. While the old man was odd with the best of them and devious when provoked, he felt like any other man and loved like any other father.

He didn't feel the bandaged hand of his mate curl around his own until Ranma was sitting up and gently bringing him into his arms. Ryoga hadn't even sensed Ranma rising, nor had the others. He'd been awake through half of the conversation, the latter half of it when they saw his own tears fall.

Ronin sighed bitterly to himself. It was never easy when it came to their family.

* * *

**...The Next Day...**

"You should be taking it easy Ranma," he heard for the fifth time in an hour. "Don't move so fast!"

Ranma rolled his eyes at his brother and stuck out his tongue for good measure. "I'm FINE, Ronin. If I wasn't fine, I wouldn't be moving…as slowly as I am now."

Ranma wasn't moving slow. Far from it. He was walking rather like he'd never gotten into that damned fight last night and didn't crack two of his ribs. A bit of it had to do with the patch up job they'd done last night, and a lot of it had to do with his new curse freely giving its benefits alongside their heritage. People of their nature fought often enough that they rarely got sick or stayed down for long. They also healed a hell of a lot faster, too fast if a regular doctor where to examine them.

Ranma flexed his fists again, testing the tension in his joints. His hands were still a bit swollen and sore but still useful nonetheless. His shoulders were stiff and it was still a bit sore to breathe properly—forget taking a deep breath—but other than the usual aches, he was well enough to do what he'd promised.

Ranma stepped out into the afternoon sun.

"Are you sure about this?"

He looked back at his mate and nodded. "As sure as I'll ever be…but I'm not too sure about this get up," he said looking down at himself. His clothes had been torn to shreds last night and all that was available to him was a Yukata Tsubasa happened to have lying around in his size. Convenient? A little too much. "I feel like I'm walking in from the feudal era…"

"Then you're going to hate it when we go home," Sage laughed.

Ranma found it hard not to believe. There was always a drawback to certain places that seemed too good to be true.

"All right everyone, this is what we're doing," Ronin called. "Jin, Sage, I want you to check out the area where Ranma said he bumped into that thing." Jin and Sage bowed or pressed their fingers to their forehead as acknowledgement. "I will accompany my brother, Ryoga, and Mousse."

"We're going as well." Kuno appeared from the side with Tsubasa near him, and surprisingly a woman Ranma hadn't seen in a long while. Kodachi gave him a slight wave of greeting as her brother explained. "We're not safe here. Sasuke has traveled ahead to tell the elders of our arrival."

"Very well. We shall leave as soon as this is done. Ranma?"

This was the hard part. His body was protesting it but it had to be done. Ranma took two steps forward and leapt unto the nearest rooftop to take him in the direction of the Tendo Dojo. It was nearly the hour he'd told them to be ready, and for him to be late was unsightly. Cologne had left this morning to prepare Shampoo for whatever judgment should befall her alongside Tofu, who decided that it would be best to visit Kasumi before everything went down.

Ryoga was a step behind Ranma, guarding his back. Ronin leapt in front of him to scout ahead for any signs of danger. Kuno and Tsubasa remained on either side of him, and Kodachi was at his right, more focused that he'd ever seen the self proclaimed Black Rose. He was used to the madness and the infatuation that plagued him whenever she decided to try and claim his heart. He was certainly not used to the grim line set in her jaw, or the sharp look of death lurking in her eyes as she easily kept up with him.

"Did my brother mention that the people of our Clan are also trained assassins?" she mentioned idly.

Ranma's brow drifted high in that respect. "No…he didn't."

"It's not common knowledge…but I thought you should know that we are at your employment should you need a scout or someone killed."

That was nice and disturbing to know. "…thanks, I suppose."

She smiled at him and that was the end of their little conversation.

The Tendo dojo came within sights and everyone followed Ranma as he chose to land near the back of the house. He landed with a small grunt of pain, his ribs severely protesting to the misuse of them so soon. It would still be a while yet before that would ever feel right. For now, Ranma grinned and bared it. He straightened himself out with a light sigh, hearing the others land in various places aside him. The one who mattered most, Ryoga, came to stand at his side dutifully.

Genma was waiting for them. At his side was Soun, nervously looking down at his hands clasped against one another. Genma was the picture of calm, standing before them as if he hadn't a care in the world. He greeted his sons with a nod, not bothering to decipher the looks of remorse and mourning flashing in their unwavering eyes. He knew they would figure it out sooner or later, and he supposed now was as good a time as any. His time was nearly up.

Genma gently nudged Soun and shook his head at the nervous man. "You will not be harmed," he assured. "Nor will your daughter. That much I swear for what little it may mean."

"It means more to me than you will EVER know…Genma," Soun whispered. "I'm sorry…"

"It doesn't matter. I said I would help you…and I will."

Ronin and Ranma shared a glance. "What are you going on about?" Ronin asked. "If you're talking about Akane, we know of her nature. It was a given when she demonstrated hammer space without realizing WHAT it was."

"I understand that, yet what you don't know is that Soun's wife was attacked by someone of the New Moon," Genma explained. "She was violated…and Soun's daughter was tainted. She gave up her life to make sure Akane knew nothing about what tainted her blood…and I was called to make sure Akane did NOT grow into that nature. Unfortunately…I was not powerful enough."

"Nobody is powerful enough to escape that nature," Nabiki sighed. She came out of the house with Kasumi aside her, but there was no sight of Akane. "It was a bold move for Saotome to try and pacify that nature with his son's power, but it seems that they only exacerbated the situation. It was the only reason Ranma was promised to wed Akane…to try and save her."

"Our mother was of the Full Moon Clan," Kasumi explained, "So we know about the Clans and the School of Anything Goes. Genma and she were friends, but Genma knew our father longer. He was the one to teach the basics to our father and the one who instructed him to spread the teachings in order to train and hide his daughter and Ranma."

Kasumi's nonchalance; Nabiki's disinterest. It suddenly made sense why those two were not surprised by half of the things that went on in the house. Ranma opened his mouth to ask something else, but he shut it as Akane appeared from the house.

Akane looked up slowly, red rimmed eyes widening as she realized that her family was out here with Kuno, Tsubasa, Ryoga, Ronin…Ranma…and Kodachi? She had no idea what to make of this, or why that crazed sister of Kuno's would even dare to trample on her property. Kodachi let her gaze linger upon Akane, and Akane flinched. Was that pity in her eyes?

"W-what…what's going on?" Akane stammered. "W-why…why is everybody…here?"

"Because it's time for the nonsense to stop," Ronin said. She stepped back as he moved forward, reaching out to grab the wrist that had been marked nearly two months ago. She looked to her father to interfere, but he could only hang his head in shame. What was happening? What wasn't he telling her? "D-dad!"

"He can't help you Akane," Ranma said sadly. She flicked her gaze to him, anger flashing in her too bright eyes before fear set in when Ronin yanked her forward. "No one can. Not unless you know the truth."

"W-what are you talking about? Y-you said I wouldn't be—!"

"You will not be marked. Not for death anyhow. Akane…you are of the New Moon…and my sworn enemy."

* * *

Again, no promises on how long the next update will be.


End file.
